New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday (February 27) refused to interfere with the order of the Madhya Pradesh High Court ordering for shifting of toxic waste from the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy site to Pithampur in Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh.
A bench comprising Justice BR Gavai and Justice AG Masih, while refusing to interfere with the High Court order, also refused to stay Thursday’s trial run for disposal of the waste from the Union Carbide India Ltd plant.
What did the apex court say?
The bench noted that the task force committee, which was constituted by the High Court, had experts from the NEERI (National Environmental Engineering Research Institute) and NGRI and CPCB and their views were considered by the High Court as well as the expert panel.
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“The High Court is monitoring the matter, in that view, we do not find any reason to interfere in the said impugned order,” the apex court bench said.
Apex court granted petitioners liberty to move High Court
The bench granted liberty to the petitioners to move the High Court, which is seized of the matter to raise their grievances.
“The petitioners can very well intervene before the High Court and raise their grievances which could be considered by the High Court,” the bench said.
The apex court had on February 25 asked authorities to apprise it about the precautions taken to dispose the toxic waste.
What did the High Court say?
The High Court had on December 3 last year directed the authorities concerned to immediately clean up the site and dispose of the toxic waste safely.
The High Court had taken note that the toxic waster at the now-defunct Union Carbide factory was lying for the last 40 years and termed the non-removal of toxic waste a “sorry state of affairs”.
Over 5,000 persons were killed and over five lakh persons were maimed after highly toxic gas methyl isocyanate (MIC) leaked from the Union Carbide factory during the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984. It is considered to be among the worst industrial disasters in the world.
