Next step on Union Carbide waste disposal depends on SC's orders: Official

The government authorities will wait for the Supreme Court's directions before proceeding with the plan to dispose of 337 tonnes of waste from Bhopal's Union Carbide factory at a waste disposal unit in Pithampur, a senior Madhya Pradesh government official said on Tuesday.

On the intervening night of December 2 and 3, 1984, highly toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal. At least 5,479 people were killed and thousands were crippled. It is considered as one of the world's biggest industrial disasters.  "The next hearing in the matter of disposal of Union Carbide waste is scheduled in the Supreme Court on February 27, and we will wait for what direction the court gives in this hearing," Indore Divisional Commissioner Deepak Singh told PTI.  The administration's next step regarding the plan to dispose of Union Carbide's waste will depend on the instructions of the apex court, he said.

 

The commissioner's statement came after the Supreme Court on Tuesday asked authorities to apprise it about the precautions taken for disposal of hazardous waste of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy in Pithampur area of Dhar district.  The apex court had on February 17 sought responses from the Centre, the Madhya Pradesh government and its pollution control board on the plea which raised the issue of alleged risk to the life and health of residents of the villages situated within one km radius from the disposal site.