The Hindu : Front Page : No objection to UCC cleaning up Bhopal plant

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Jun 24, 2004

Front Page

Front Page

No objection to UCC cleaning up Bhopal plant

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, JUNE 23. The Government today decided to inform a United States court that it had no objection to the multinational Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) being directed to clean up the mess it left behind at its plant in Bhopal.

The Bhopal gas tragedy took place in 1984 when methylisocyanate leaked from this plant killing thousands and maiming others. The plant belonged to the now defunct UCC subsidiary, Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL).

A U.S. court has been waiting since March this year for the Indian Government to provide a "no objection" certificate before it can direct UCC, now acquired by Dow Chemicals, to clean up the chemicals and waste left behind at the plant site.

The apparently simple issue had been tossing between the Ministries of Chemicals and Law, with both claiming that the other was responsible for issuing the letter to the U.S. Court of Appeals.

With the deadline of June 30 set by the U.S. court for a response fast approaching, trade unions and NGOs urged the Government to reach a decision in time so that UCC can implement the court order.

According to an official release issued here today, the Chemicals and Fertilizers Minister, Ram Vilas Paswan, took up the issue this month and sought an expeditious opinion from the Law Ministry.

Informed sources, however, say the resolution of the jurisdictional dispute was taken up on Tuesday by the Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, leading to the announcement of the Law Ministry's opinion and the Chemical Ministry's decision to send a letter to the U.S. court.

The press release says the Government has decided to convey its "no- objection" to the U.S. court to consider environmental contamination claims unrelated to the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster as defined in Section 2 (a) of the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster (Processing of Claims ) Act 1985.

The case was filed in a New York district court as a civil proceeding in 1999 by some Bhopal-based NGOs, including Hasina Bi and other affected people.

It sought relief under the Alien Tort Claims Act of New York against UCC and its chairman, Warren Anderson, for causing personal injury as well as damage to the property. The suit was dismissed by the district court on August 28, 2000 on the ground that the plaintiff lacked standing to bring the action and that their claims were barred by the 1989 settlement in the Supreme Court of India. The plaintiffs then filed an appeal before the second Circuit Court of Appeals in the U.S.

This court remanded the case to the District Court in March this year to consider certain aspects afresh.

The claim for site "remediation" — or clearing up the site — can be taken up by the district court only if the Indian Government or Madhya Pradesh seeks to intervene in the action or otherwise urges the court to order such relief.

The release issued by the Chemicals and Fertilizers Ministry says that along with the Central Government, the Madhya Pradesh Government has also conveyed that it has no objection to the matter but "with certain conditions."

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