Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The Central Government, on Thursday, informed the principal bench of Madhya Pradesh high court at Jabalpur that Rs 126 crore has been given to the Gas Relief department in state for disposal of chemical waste left at Union Carbide plant.
The court was hearing the petition regarding cleanup of Union Carbide's toxic waste and fixing the responsibility of Dow Chemical and Union Carbide for soil and groundwater contamination.
The Central Government informed the court that an amount of Rs 126 crore has been given to the Gas Relief Department for disposal of 347 MT of toxic waste in Pithampur. It was decided in the committee meeting in July 2023 that disposal work will be carried out by Pithampur Industrial waste management private Limited located in Pithampur. It would take 185 days to 377 days to complete the disposal of waste and would cost Rs 126 crore.
Bhopal Group for Information and Action(BGIA), raising the issue, said that apart from 337 MT, thousands of tonnes of toxic waste is buried inside and outside the factory, due to which the groundwater has been polluted and there is need for cleaning it and also making the two companies accountable for the pollution in the area. BGIA Rachna Dhingra said, “ HC has asked BGIA to tell in the next hearing (May 27) the case of soil and ground water pollution caused by Union Carbide's toxic waste. .
