Disposal of toxic waste of Union Carbide at Nagpur
JABALPUR (PTI): Madhya Pradesh High Court recently directed the state government to initiate temporary steps within ten days for transporting it to DRDO facility in Nagpur.
Clearing way for disposal of the toxic waste lying at defunct Union Carbide plant in Bhopal. The directives in this regard were given by the division bench of Justice U C Maheshwari and Justice S Harkoli on a petition filed by social worker Alok Pratap Singh on the issue.
The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) informed the court that it has the facility to dispose of half to one tonne of the toxic waste per day, which means to treat 346 tonnes of hazardous material lying at the Union Carbide factory, it requires nearly two years of time.
MP government also informed the high court that it will take 45 days time for completion of the formalities for transporting the toxic waste to Nagpur.
The bench, after hearing both the sides, directed the state government to make temporary arrangements for the transport of one tonne of toxic waste per day to Nagpur within 10 days and also asked the DRDO to start its disposal process simultaneously.
The High Court granted 60 days of time to the state government to finalize the tender process and fixed July 28 as the next date of hearing in the case.
Thousands of people had been killed when poisonous gas Methyl Isocyanate was released from the plant of Union Carbide, owned by the Dow Chemical Company, on intervening nights of December 2-3, 1984.
