Gas victims' organisations claim victory

Bhopal,June 11,  2012 (HMNS) Five voluntary groups fighting for Bhopal gas tragedy survivors on Monday claimed that the recent Government decision to send 350 tonnes of hazardous waste from the Union Carbide factory to Germany for safe disposal was a vindication of their stand on the issue and a minor but significant victory in their 22-year-long battle on this problem.

Addressing mediapersons, the leaders of the organisations said that this recent decision of the Group of Ministers on Bhopal has highlighted the toxic nature of Union Carbide’s waste and the ongoing dangers posed by the thousands of tonnes of hazardous waste in and around the abandoned pesticide factory. The organisations said that the environmental damage caused due to reckless dumping of hazardous waste by Union Carbide was so massive and complex that the compensation for the damages could be a billion US dollars or more.
The organisations pointed out that the Indian Government has sought `350 crore as advance for the cleanup from Union Carbide’s owner Dow Chemical but this amount is too little for the job.
According to the organisations what is more worrisome is that the Government is yet to make any preparations to make Dow Chemical pay for the environmental and health damages caused by Union Carbide. The organisations pointed out that unless the Government organises a comprehensive scientific assessment of the depth and spread of contamination the cost of environmental remediation cannot be estimated. Likewise, there is need for a health survey for thorough documentation of the health damage caused to 40,000 residents of the communities in the vicinity of the factory due to chronic exposure to the contaminants in the ground water.
The organisations criticised the Government’s current claim for compensation for environmental damages that is included in its curative petition in the Supreme Court for enhanced compensation for the gas disaster. The organisations said that the Supreme Court is unlikely to consider the Government’s environmental claims in the curative petition as the problem of hazardous waste and environmental contamination predates the gas disaster and is not related to it.
According to the organisations, the Central Government could claim compensation for environmental damages in the ongoing Special Leave Petition before the Supreme Court on this issue. The organisations said that as interveners in this petition they would be presenting such a claim. As Dow Chemical is an American company, for enforcement of any decision on compensation by the Indian Supreme Court, the US courts would have to be approached.
The organisations’ representatives said that the other option for the Government was to join the litigation for compensation for environmental damages in the US Federal court. The case in the US Court has been filed by 17 residents of the contamination affected communities and it seeks compensation for environmental and health damages as well as clean up of the toxic contamination.