The Supreme Court on September 26 pulled up authorities over their failure to comply with its decade-old directions regarding the medical care of Bhopal gas tragedy survivors. Issuing notice to the Union Health Ministry, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), the Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh, and the Principal Secretary of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department, the court sought responses in a contempt petition that highlights “almost total non-compliance” with its 2012 orders, according to a report by LiveLaw.
A bench of Justice PS Narasimha and Justice AS Chandurkar acted on the contempt plea filed by survivors’ groups in Bhopal Gas Peedith Mahila Udyog Sangathan v Union of India. The petitioners alleged that though the matter was transferred to the Madhya Pradesh High Court in 2012 for monitoring and execution, authorities had done little in the past 12 years. “For the last ten years, the High Court has restrained itself from initiating any punitive action against the Respondent authorities,” the plea stated.
The Monitoring Committee, first created by the Supreme Court in 2004 and later reconstituted by the High Court in 2013 under retired judge Justice VK Agarwal, has so far submitted 21 reports, the report said. These, however, indicate that vacancies in the Bhopal Memorial Hospital remain unfilled and the computerisation of patient records is not “patient-centric” or useful in tracking survivors’ treatment history, it said.
The report notes that despite repeated warnings, including one in 2016 when the High Court even contemplated coercive action against the Union government, compliance has been absent. The court had remarked in 2017 that the Union was “deliberately delaying” recruitment and rule formulation. On January 6 this year, the High Court expressed strong displeasure, observing, “it seems that the respondents are not serious about the work to be completed.” The matter will next be heard on November 14.
Meanwhile, in a parallel development tied to the long-delayed clean-up of the Union Carbide factory site, the disposal of nearly 377 tons of hazardous waste began on January 1 this year. “Twelve container trucks carrying the waste set off on a non-stop journey around 9 pm. A green corridor has been created for the vehicles which are expected to reach Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district in seven hours,” said Swatantra Kumar Singh, Director of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department.
He explained that close to 100 workers packed and loaded the toxic waste in half-hour shifts. “They underwent health check-ups and were given rest every 30 minutes,” Singh said. Once at Pithampur, the waste will be incinerated under the supervision of the Central and State Pollution Control Boards, with emissions passing through four-layer filters to ensure air quality. The residue ash, after testing, will be buried beneath a two-layer membrane to prevent soil or water contamination.
But the move has not been without opposition. Local residents in Pithampur, a town of about 1.75 lakh people, staged protest marches, fearing contamination. Some activists also claimed that a 2015 trial incineration of 10 tons of the waste led to pollution of soil and water in nearby villages. Singh, however, rejected these fears: “The decision to dispose of the waste at Pithampur was taken only after the report of the 2015 test and all the objections were examined. There would be no reason to worry.”
The Bhopal gas tragedy of December 2-3, 1984, when poisonous methyl isocyanate leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide plant, killed at least 5,479 people and left thousands with permanent illnesses. Nearly four decades later, courts continue to grapple with both medical relief for survivors and the removal of toxic waste from the site.
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