40 Cents: That's the cost of an Indian life
Shobhan Saxena
Thursday December 10, 2009, 11:12 PM
You know what's the cost of an Indian life for an
American MNC? 40 cents. That's it. And, guess what, the government of
India agrees with this value. All Indians - all 1.1 billion of us - are
worth 40 cents. So, if you vaporize into thin air in a Chernobyl-like
nuclear accident, that's what your family (if they survive, that is)
would be paid. If you think I am talking through my hat or making all
this up, here are a few facts. A few scary facts.
The
government of this country is in the process of tabling a bill in the
parliament which will give a guarantee to all the MNCs willing to
invest money and technology in India's nuclear reactors that in case of
an accident, they don't have to pay more that $450 million in
compensation. That's the limit. The compensation has been capped at
$450 million. Divide 450 million by 1.1 billion and you get 40 cents.
That's what the companies bringing their nuclear reactors will pay if
there is an accident at a nuclear reactor (Of course, no nuclear mishap
can affect all the 1.1 billion people of this country, but a nuclear
calamity can inflict a huge social, economic and environmental damage
to generations of Indians. And keeping our track record in mind -
Bhopal 25 years ago; Kaiga three weeks back -- the chances of an
accident can't be ruled out.)
A couple of weeks back, the
Union cabinet okayed the draft of the Civil Nuclear Liability Bill,
fixing the civil liability at Rs 2,500 crore ($450 million). It was a
strong message to the business lobby in Washington, which have been
eyeing the Rs 60,000-crore plus market in India in the next 5-10 years.
That's a huge amount of money. There's no cap on profit these MNCs can
make in this poor country, but there's a cap on compensation they have
to pay in case of a mishap.
And what about the criminal
liability? The bill is silent on it. We have been the victims of the
worst ever industrial accident ever. Twenty five years ago this month -
on the night of December 3-4 - the Union Carbide (an American MNC)
factory in Bhopal began spewing a poisonous gas that killed and maimed
thousands. Those people are still suffering. They are still camping at
Jantar Mantar in Delhi, waiting for compensation and justice. In
Bhopal, frail and weak women are still giving birth to children with
congenital heart condition. The people of the city are still drinking
contaminated, poisoned water. And the criminal in chief behind this
atrocity, Warren Anderson, is living life kingsize in a plush New
Jersey mansion. We can't touch him.
And, now, with this
new bill, the Indian government is giving an assurance to the
Americans: go to India, set up your nuclear plants, mint money; if
there is an accident we guarantee you that you won't be touched; and
you can pay 40 cents for every life lost. In short, they have been
guaranteed that they will get away with murder.
But,
people, particularly civil society groups, are already speaking up
against the bill. A brilliant report by Greenpeace India has not only
exposed the major flaws in the bill, it has actually proved that this
bill is "anti-people" and against the "Constitution of India." The
Greenpeace report says that "the responsibility for paying this
compensation will rest on the operator (likely to be the Nuclear
Power Corporation) and not the supplier or foreign companies
building and installing reactors in India... In a nutshell, this
means the supplier-foreign companies like France's Areva SA,
Russia's Rosatom Corp and US giants GE and Westinghouse -- will reap
huge profits by setting up nuclear reactors and selling their
technologies, but will not be required to pay compensation in case of a
nuclear accident at their plants."
The Greenpeace sent
its report to Soli Sorabjee for an Opinion. Sorabjee is not only one of
the best constitutional experts we have in this country, he is also
India's former attorney-general. This is what Sorabjee said in his
Opinion: "There is no warrant or justification for capping nuclear
liability, as is sought to be done. Any such move will be in defiance
of the Supreme Court judgments and will be contrary to the interest of
people of India and their fundamental rights under Article 21 of the
Constitution."
Violation of people's rights. Violation of
Supreme Court verdicts. Violation of safety norms. For what? 40 cents.
And you will get it, when you are dead.
http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Main-Street/entry/40-cents-that-s-the
Adv Kamayani Bali Mahabal
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