Bhopal, March 13 (IANS). The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Friday directed the state government to submit a detailed plan by March 23 to assess and remediate the contaminated soil and groundwater around the closed Union Carbide factory in Bhopal.
A bench of Justices Vivek Kumar Singh and Ajay Kumar Nirankari has given this direction while hearing the petition of an NGO working for the victims of Bhopal gas tragedy. The petition demanded timely action and treatment of contaminated soil and groundwater around the Union Carbide factory.
In response to the petition, the state government filed an affidavit saying that work on the remediation plan including assessment of the contaminated soil and groundwater and tender for cleaning the surrounding area is underway and sought some more time. After hearing the arguments from both the sides, the bench fixed the matter for further hearing on March 23.
Meanwhile, an affidavit signed by Krishnakant Dubey, Deputy Secretary, Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department, said that the department had organized a meeting on March 5 in compliance with the directions of the monitoring committee/task force constituted by the Supreme Court in 2023.
The affidavit said that in the meeting chaired by the Additional Chief Secretary, various issues like assessment of remediation of contaminated soil and ground water in and around the former UCIL complex, detoxification and disinfection of the rusted plant and time bound remediation were discussed.
The affidavit said the monitoring committee had suggested that the state government, with the help of NEERI and NGRI, conduct fresh studies to determine the extent of soil and groundwater pollution, as well as mercury leakage and accumulation of waste in groundwater. In this regard, the State Government has come up with an action plan including identification and finalization of an agency/group of agencies to conduct the study
The affidavit also mentions that the state government has decided to utilize 87.74 acres of land (Union Carbide factory site) for various other purposes including setting up the memorial and an action plan will be prepared for the same.
337 tonnes of toxic waste from the closed Union Carbide factory was shifted from Bhopal to Pithampur Industrial Area on January 1, 2025 and completely incinerated at a private waste treatment plant by the end of June 2025.
The disposal of this toxic waste comes more than 40 years after the Bhopal gas tragedy, which occurred on December 2-3, 1984 and claimed more than 5,000 lives. However, the contaminated soil of the factory site and three ponds located a few meters away (to the north of the factory site) still remain a challenge for the authorities.
–IANS
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