A jittery UPA government has decided to give yet another extension to the standing committee on science and technology, which is considering the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010 in order to buy time from an adamant BJP.

The government?desperate to form a consensus on the Bill?even convened a meeting of top managers and the leadership of the BJP in order to find a way out but it proved elusive.

Finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, minister for science and technology Prithviraj Chavan and standing committee chairman Subbirami Reddy met top BJP leaders in this regard. Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said that the government seemed prepared to meet it halfway on the Bill.

?As of now, however, we have asked for an extension to consider the Bill, which the government has agreed to,? Swaraj said.

Swaraj added that the Opposition had asked for a domestic law on nuclear liability as well as stressed the futility of subscribing to the Convention on Supplementary Compensation (CSC), which is an international requirement for nuclear commerce. ?We also said that the power of awarding damages on unlimited no fault liability lie with the claims commissioner appointed under the Bill so that victims do not have to go from pillar to post trying to claim compensation,? Swaraj added.

While Swaraj claimed that the finance minister Pranab Mukherjee appeared willing to concede on these points, government sources said that the matter was not that easy. ?Joining the CSC is an important part of the Bill,? said a source. ?The other two aspects can be conceded,? added the source.

The Centre is not in a comfortable position as it does not have the required numbers to push the Bill through on its own in the Rajya Sabha even if it manages the feat in the Lok Sabha.

In the Rajya Sabha, the UPA has 93 members while the NDA totals 94 members.

Added to it is the strength of the Left with 22 members and other small parties which hold 35 seats.

?The BJP has to be on board, there is no way around it,? said a senior minister in the government.