HC gives MP 5 weeks to submit plan for cleanup of Union Carbide site
The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday gave the State Government five weeks to submit a plan for assessment and remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater in and around the defunct Union Carbide factory in Bhopal.
At least 5,479 people were killed and thousands were maimed after highly toxic methyl isocyanate gas leaked from Union Carbide’s pesticide factory in Bhopal in the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984.
A division bench of Justices VK Singh and AK Nirankari took on record an affidavit filed by the state Government that sought more time to submit the plan.
In its affidavit, the state Government said a meeting was held on March 3 with the Additional Chief Secretary of Health and other officials to invite organisations capable of carrying out such assessment and remediation. In this meeting, discussions took place on various issues, including the assessment of remediation of contaminated soil and groundwater, detoxification and decontamination of the corroded structure of the Union Carbide plant, and time-bound remediation of the site.
A decision was made to initiate the process and issue a short tender for these works from the empanelled list of ‘reference organisations’ prepared by the Central Pollution Control Board under Environment Protection (Management of Contaminated Sites) Rules 2025, the State Government said. The court is hearing a clutch of petitions aimed at making the area pollution-free.
Rachna Dhingra of NGO Bhopal Group for Information and Action, who attended the hearing, told PTI the State Government was supposed to provide the plan on Friday but couldn’t and requested an extension.
