Environmental and gas relief activist on Tuesday called for urgent judicial intervention to address the burning of Bhopal's toxic waste in Pithampur, citing grave environmental and health concerns.
Sadhana Karnik Pradhan, convenor of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Sangharsh Sahayog Samiti, has petitioned the Registrar General of the Jabalpur High Court and the Chief Justice of India. She urged the formation of a special bench to hear pending petitions on the matter, including one related to a Supreme Court directive. She said the Madhya Pradesh Gas Relief Department uploaded critical trial reports on the High Court website only after a 27 March order directed the incineration of 307 tonnes of Bhopal’s toxic waste. This delay, she claimed, prevented independent scientific scrutiny before the court ruling.
Karnik highlighted how expert reviews of the reports revealed alarming flaws, including the concealment of mercury levels—over 238 kg—posing extreme danger to human life and the environment.
Since the start of the incineration process, Karnik has repeatedly questioned the waste-burning procedure, which she says endangers human life and poses grave hazards to the environment due to the improper handling of mercury.