Lamenting the lack of progress in the management of toxic waste from the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, the Madhya Pradesh High Court observed that “40 years after the disaster, the authorities are still in a state of inertia”.
The bench of Chief Justice Suresh Kumar Ket and Justice Vivek Jain said, “Although various instructions have been issued by the Hon’ble Supreme Court and this court from time to time, we have not been able to understand it till date. No action appears to have been taken to remove toxic waste/materials.”
“Though the plan has been approved, the contract has been awarded, yet the authorities are in limbo which may lead to another tragedy before further action is taken,” the court observed.
The bench is hearing a petition filed by activist Alok Pratap Singh demanding dumping of toxic waste at the factory site. On September 11, the court was informed through a PIL that “more than four months have passed and till date no progress report has been shown in this matter” as the contractor has not done any work. The Madhya Pradesh government announced in July that it would incinerate 345 metric tonnes (MT) of toxic waste from the Union Carbide facility, where the industrial disaster occurred 40 years ago.
The court said, “Although some steps have been taken, they are meagre and cannot be appreciated as the present petition dates back to 2004 and almost 20 years have passed but the respondents are at the first stage.”
“This is indeed an unfortunate situation as removal of toxic waste from the plant site, decommissioning of the MIC and Sewin plants and removal of contaminants spread in the surrounding soil and ground water are paramount requirements for the safety of the general public of the city of Bhopal,” the court said in its December 3 order. said
The court directed the Principal Secretary, Bhopal Gas Accident Relief and Rehabilitation Department to fulfill the statutory obligations and duties. The court has warned that ‘if the order given by this court is not followed, the chief secretary of the department will be prosecuted for contempt of court’.
“We direct immediate cleaning of the Union Carbide factory site at Bhopal and removal of all toxic waste/materials from the concerned area and take all remedial measures for safe disposal,” the court said.
The Center told the court that it has paid its share of the cleaning costs, but the state government has not spent the amount.
The state had already awarded the contract and paid 20 percent of the amount to the contractor, but ‘no action has been taken by the concerned contractor so far’. The state further submitted that they would “start the process within three weeks”.