HC moved to stop transport to Pithampur | Indore News – Times of India

INDORE: While Madhya Pradesh govt prepares on a war footing to transfer Union Carbide waste from Bhopal to a disposal facility in Dhar’s Pithampur, a petition was filed before the Indore bench of high court on Monday, seeking to halt the transportation.
The petitioners — Alumni Association of Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Hospital through its president and chest physician Dr Sanjay Londhe, and oncologists Dr SS Nayyar and Dr Vinita Kothari — seek formation of a judicial committee to check impact of the disposal on people who live in the vicinity of the plant.
The petition (WP/41965/2024) fears disposal of the waste left over from the 1984 tragedy will have a ‘grave impact’ on Pithampur and Indore. In the last few days, govt has repeatedly allayed safety concerns, saying all health safeguards will be ensured.
Gas tragedy relief department director Swatantra Kumar Singh on Sunday held a press meet where he said incineration of toxic waste from the Union Carbide plant will not have any adverse impact on the land and soil of villages.
Still, landfill has been created so that the waste doesn’t come into contact with either water or soil during incineration, he assured, pointing out that disposal of 10 tonnes of waste has already been carried out at the behest of high court, under the supervision of experts, and no harmful effect was found in the area.
The petitioners — who say they got information of the govt’s plans to shift the waste to Pithampur from news reports on Dec 28 —want a committee under a sitting HC judge to assess the impact on health and environment.
“The people of Indore and Pithampur are not ‘lesser citizens’ in the eyes of Constitution of India, so there is no reason to keep them in the dark, when there is matter of their life, well-being and health. Constitution guarantees every citizen the Fundamental Right to live with dignity and equal protection of law. Through this writ petition, the petitioners seek protection of that right from the honourable court,” counsel Abhinav P Dhanodkar said.
They allege that neither the local administrations nor elected bodies of Indore and Pithampur were taken into confidence. “Even the people of Indore… were not taken into confidence. There is no dialogue between the people and administration on this issue,” the petition said.
“Such steps can’t be taken arbitrarily in a democratic country like India. By taking such arbitrary steps, the state is actually curtailing the Fundamental Rights of people,” it said.
Pointing out that Indore is a densely populated city and Pithampur is the biggest industrial area of MP, the petitioners fear disposing waste will directly affect the people. Quoting experts, they said that apart from methyl isocyanate — the gas that killed over 20,000 people in the 1984 Bhopal tragedy and affected generations — the waste from Union Carbide plant may contain “carcinogenic compounds, Aldicarp wastes like hexachloroethane, hexachlorobutadiene, mercury, nickel, copper, chromium compound and cyanide”.
The waste disposal plant in Pithampur is situated close to Gambhir river, a source of water supply to Yeshwant Sagar reservoir — which supplies water to 40% of Indore. “There is a possibility that this dam may be polluted because of hazardous waste, therefore such a huge risk cannot be taken by the administration,” the petition said.
The petition also seeks directions to establish a temporary hospital capable of dealing with any aftermath related to the disposal of Union carbide waste. They want an evacuation plan and SOP for local residents and a rehabilitation and resettlement plan in case of a mishap.
Dhanodkar told TOI, “We have written to high court registry seeking an urgent hearing. We expect to be heard soon.”