New Delhi, Feb 27: The Supreme Court declined to interfere with the order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court regarding the relocation of toxic waste from the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, which will be disposed of in the Pithampur area of Madhya Pradesh’s Dhar district.
A bench comprising Justices B R Gavai and A G Masih also decided against halting the trial run for the disposal of the waste from the Union Carbide India Ltd plant. The court acknowledged that insights from experts at NEERI, NGRI, and CPCB had been taken into account by both the high court and the expert panel.
The bench urged affected parties, including civil society representatives, to approach the high court currently handling the matter.
On February 25, the Supreme Court instructed the authorities to inform it about the safety measures implemented for waste disposal. Approximately 377 tonnes of hazardous waste from the now-closed Union Carbide factory was transported to the Pithampur industrial area, located about 250 km from Bhopal and 30 km from Indore, for disposal at a treatment facility.
The highly toxic gas methyl isocyanate (MIC) leaked from the Union Carbide factory during the night of December 2-3, 1984, resulting in the deaths of 5,479 individuals and injuring over half a million more. This incident is regarded as one of the worst industrial disasters in history. (PTI)
