'Fighting This Waste Since Many Yrs': Supreme Court Refuses To Stop Incineration Of Chemical Waste From Bhopal Gas Tragedy At Pithampur

The Supreme Court today refused to halt the incineration of toxic chemical waste from Bhopal Gas Tragedy site at the Pithampur facility.

The matter was mentioned before a bench of Justices Sanjay Karol and Satish Chandra Sharma by one of the intervenors, seeking urgent listing on the basis that the 72-day period for disposal of the waste would end before the Supreme Court fully reopens.

The bench however declined urgent listing of the case.

"You have made this attempt before the Madhya Pradesh High Court and it was rejected. You made an attempt to stop this before this Court also, no interim order has been granted. Now during vacation, you want us to stay all this?" exclaimed Justice Sharma (who hails from the State of MP).

The judge also deprecated the attempts made from time to time to prevent disposal of the toxic waste. "For how many years we are fighting with that waste? [I know because] it's from my state...no, no, rejected! This particular case, list after vacations. Very sorry. You have made all attempts...all these NGOs, all these so-called social activists...High Court is monitoring it...I know it for certain", remarked Justice Sharma.

When the intervenor's counsel urged that the waste would get incinerated in the meantime, Justice Sharma retorted, "yes, under the supervision of expert bodies we are doing it". The judge also rejected the contention that there is urgency involved.

In February this year, the Supreme Court refused to interfere with MP High Court's direction for disposal of the chemical waste from Bhopal Gas Tragedy site at Pithampur. However, the Court granted liberty to the parties to raise their grievances before the High Court.

Subsequently, the High Court directed the State to conduct the first trial run to dispose of 10 metric tonnes of Union Carbide's waste material at Pithampur facility on February 27.

In March, the MP government informed the High Court that it can dispose of the toxic waste, generated by the now-defunct Union Carbide Factory, in a period of 72 days- by incineration at the Pithampur facility. The State submitted an affidavit stating that the trial runs to dispose of 30 metric ton of waste, permitted by the High Court, were successful and that the remaining waste could be disposed of under the supervision of Central Pollution Control Board and State Pollution Control Board, at an optimum speed of 270 kg per hour. In this backdrop, the High Court ordered that the needful be done within the mentioned time period.

Background

In 2004, a Public Interest Litigation was initiated before the MP High Court assailing the inaction of the Central Government as well as State Government in taking effective steps to clean up the area around the Union Carbide Factory wherein thousands of tons of toxic waste and chemicals is lying dumped.

On December 3, 2024, terming the non-removal of toxic waste from the now-defunct Union Carbide Factory site at Bhopal a "sorry state of affairs", the Jabalpur Bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court directed authorities to immediately clean-up the site and take all remedial measures for safe disposal of the waste/material from the area. It was noted that 40 years had lapsed since the Bhopal gas tragedy but toxic waste material was still lying at the now-defunct Union Carbide Factory.

Thereafter, on January 6, the High Court ordered media to not publish any fake news or misinformation regarding the disposal of Union Carbide waste material at Pithampur facility. Assailing these two orders and the High Court's direction for transportation and disposal of 337 metric tonnes of "hazardous" chemical waste at Pithampur, a petition was filed before the Supreme Court.

On February 17, the Court issued notice on the petition after hearing Senior Advocate Devdatt Kamat, who submitted that the High Court directed disposal of the chemical waste without issuing any advisory. Referring to State of MP's own affidavit, the senior counsel further informed that the Pithampur facility is surrounded by habitation of people, who may be exposed to side-effects of gases released while incinerating the toxic waste.

The Tarapura village comprising of 105 houses is only 250 metres away from the Pithampur facility and people in the village need to be relocated, but nothing has been done, he added. It was also mentioned that the Pithampur disposal site is near a river (Gambhir River) and any contamination thereof can have catastrophic consequences for public health and the ecosystem.

After the issuance of notice by the top Court, the MP High Court, on February 18, ordered a trial run of 10 metric tonnes from February 27 onwards. Eventually, the petition before the Supreme Court was disposed of by the Supreme Court, while refusing to halt disposal of the chemical waste as ordered by the High Court.