Trucks to carry toxic waste from Union Carbide factory in Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
The Supreme Court on Monday (February 17, 2025) decided to examine a plea challenging a Madhya Pradesh High Court decision to transport and dispose of 337 metric tonnes of “hazardous” chemical waste from the Bhopal gas tragedy site, in Pithampur, Madhya Pradesh.
A Bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and A.G. Masih issued notice to the Union government, the State of Madhya Pradesh and the State’s Pollution Control Board while listing the case next week.
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The petition filed by Chinmay Mishra has moved the Supreme Court against the High Court’s December 2024 and January 2025 orders. In December, the High Court had voiced its disapproval of the fact that the highly toxic chemical waste was lying buried in and around the abandoned Union Carbide factory site in Bhopal even 40 years after the methyl isocyanate gas leak claimed over 5,400 lives.
The January order of the High Court had urged the media to not misinform the public about the disposal of the waste at Pithampur.
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Senior advocate Devdatt Kamat, appearing for the petitioner, said the local population in Pithampur were “up in arms” against bringing the waste to their neighbourhood.
He argued that Pithampur was an industrial area, thickly populated and situated only 30 km from Indore city. “There is not even a proper government hospital situated in Pithampur,” the petition said.
Published – February 17, 2025 09:23 pm IST