PRESS STATEMENT
On the 28th anniversary of the Bhopal gas leak disaster of 02/03.12.1984, which has already left over 20,000 dead and had inflicted injuries in varying degree on over 550,000 other human inhabitants of Bhopal, the Bhopal Gas Peedith Mahila Udyog Sanghathan (BGPMUS) and the Bhopal Gas Peedith Sangharsh Sahayog Samiti (BGPSSS) pay their homage to the departed and reiterate their determination to continue to uphold the cause of the survivors.
As noted on previous
occasions, the truth is that even nearly three decades after the disaster,
neither the State nor the Central Government has made any attempt to either
undertake a comprehensive assessment of the ramifications of the Bhopal disaster
or to take necessary remedial measures. As a result, the gas-victims have had to
wage concerted struggles in their quest for medical relief, compensation and
justice. During 2012, while achieving partial success on the litigation front, lack
of progress on most other pressing issues concerning the Bhopal gas-victims continue
to remain a source of major concern. The current status of issues such as
health care, enhancement of compensation, prosecution of the accused, economic
rehabilitation, remediation of the environment, etc., may be briefly recounted as
follows:
1. HEALTH: The
gross indifference on the part of the State and Central Governments to the
health needs of the gas-victims continues to be as grim as ever. Apart from the
fact that a fairly large infrastructure has been set up in terms of buildings
and number of hospital beds as a result of pressure exerted over the years by
organizations supporting the cause of the Bhopal gas victims, the quality of
health care in terms of diagnosis, investigation and treatment continue to be abysmal
as ever. The persistent apathy on the part of the Indian Council of Medical
Research (ICMR) in monitoring the health status of the Bhopal gas victims – through
computerization and networking of hospital medical records and by ensuring the
supply of health-booklet to each gas-victim with his/her complete medical
record – is shocking to say the least. That a proper protocol for treatment of
each gas-related ailment has not been evolved even 28 years after the disaster
speaks volumes about the lackadaisical approach of the concerned authorities in
this regard.
It was because of this utter
callousness on the part of the ICMR and the State Government that BGPMUS, the
Bhopal Group for Information & Action (BGIA) and BGPSSS – as Petitioners
Nos.1, 2 and 3 – were compelled to file a writ petition (Writ Petition No.50 of
1998) before the Supreme Court on 14 January 1998 seeking restarting of
disaster-related medical research, monitoring and recording of health status of
each gas-victim, improvement in health care facilities, appropriate protocol
for treatment of each disaster-related ailment, etc. After 14 years of
litigation, the Supreme Court acceded to the prayers of the Petitioners and
vide Order dated 09.08.2012 has directed the ICMR and the State Government to
comply with a variety of tasks. The most notable directions of the Court that have
far-reaching implications can be summarized as follows:
* The ICMR as
well as the NIREH (National Institute for Research in Environmental Health,
Bhopal) have been directed “to ensure that research work is carried on with
exactitude and expeditiousness and further to ensure disbursement of its
complete benefit to the gas victims”.
* The
Monitoring Committee (which was set up by the Supreme Court on 17.08.2004 to
monitor the problems related to health care) has been directed to
operationalize medical surveillance; workout modalities for computerization of
medical records; and to ensure that ‘health booklets’ and ‘smart cards’ are
provided to each gas victim.
* The
Monitoring Committee has been granted complete jurisdiction to oversee the
proper functioning of BMHRC and other BGTRRD hospitals, with regard to problems
relatable to gas-victims.
* The
Monitoring Committee, with the aid of the Advisory Committee, NIREH and the
specialized doctors of the Bhopal Memorial Hospital & Research Centre (BMHRC),
has been directed to prepare a standardized protocol for treating each category
of ailment that the gas victims may be suffering from and also to
scientifically categorize patients and injuries.
* The State
Government and the Monitoring Committee have been directed to evolve a
methodology of common referral system amongst the various medical units under
the BMHRC and the Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief & Rehabilitation Department (BGTRRD)
under the State Government to ensure that the gas victims are referred to
appropriate centres for proper diagnosis and treatment in terms of the nature
and degree of injury suffered by each one of them.
* The concerned
authorities have been directed to take appropriate steps in all respects not
only to fill up vacancies of doctors and supporting staff but also to provide
such infrastructure and facilities so that doctors are not compelled to or
prefer to resign from employment (especially from BMHRC) due to inadequate
facilities.
* The
Government of India and the Government of Madhya Pradesh have been directed to
take immediate steps for disposal of the toxic waste lying in and around the
Union Carbide factory, Bhopal, on the recommendations of the Monitoring
Committee, Advisory Committee and the NIREH within the next six months.
The sad part is that, despite the Supreme
Court’s Order with clear-cut directions that was issued four months ago, neither
the ICMR nor the State Government has taken any noticeable step to implement
the said directions. Thus, as far as gas-victims are concerned, the ground
realities are hardly different from what they were four months ago and, in
fact, conditions especially at BMHRC have only gone from bad to worse. Under the circumstances, BGPMUS & BGPSSS
sincerely hope that the Monitoring Committee would take all necessary steps to
ensure that the State Government and the ICMR implements the said directions of
the Supreme Court without further delay so that BGPMUS & BGPSSS are not compelled
to move the High Court for appropriate relief.
2. COMPENSATION:
Twenty-one
years after the unjust Bhopal Settlement of 14/15 February 1989, the Government
of India had decided to file a curative petition (Curative Petition Nos.39-42
of 2010) before the Supreme Court on 03 December 2010 against the terms of the Settlement
on the plea that the Settlement was based on underestimated figures of dead and
injured. The petition has been admitted but has not yet been listed for
hearing. Although BGPMUS and BGPSSS
support the GOI’s Curative Petition in principle regarding the total casualty
figure (i.e., 5,73,000+ dead and injured) and regarding the modalities for
enhancing compensation (i.e., that it should be based on the Dollar-Rupee
exchange rate as it prevailed at the time of the Settlement), there is serious
difference regarding the number of dead and seriously injured and regarding
estimation of claims for relief & rehabilitation and for environmental
damage. The stand of BGPMUS & BGPSSS regarding the number of dead (20,000+)
and seriously injured (150,000+) has already been explained in the Special
Leave Petition (SLP) that is currently pending before the Supreme Court as SLP
No.12893 of 2010. BGPMUS & BGPSSS are in the process of intervening in the GOI’s
Curative Petition challenging the Settlement.
3. CRIMINAL
CASE: The criminal cases against the accused are proceeding at
two levels: one against the 3 absconding accused and the other against the 8
accused who appeared before the Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM), Bhopal, to face
trial. Through Judgment and Order dated 07.06.2010, the CJM has already
prosecuted the said 8 accused under Section 304-A, 336, 337 and 338 of IPC. The
CBI, the State of MP and BGPMUS & BGPSSS had filed Criminal Revision
Petitions against the said Judgment of the CJM before the Sessions Court, Bhopal.
By completely overlooking the plea of the Prosecution and by upholding the
contentions of the accused in toto, the Sessions Court, Bhopal, on 28.08.2012
dismissed CBI’s Criminal Revision Petition No.632 of 2010 against the said Judgment
on account of it “being not maintainable and barred by limitation”. The
CBI had sought enhancement of charges against Keshub Mahindra and 7 other
accused from Section 304-A to Section 304 Part-II of IPC on the basis of
evidence already before the Court of the CJM.
Thus, the ray of hope that was visible in the Supreme Court’s Order
dated 11.05.2011, which was that the misreading of its Order dated 13.09.1996
by the CJM “can certainly be corrected by the appellate/ revisional court”,
was temporarily extinguished. However, there is still hope that the plea for
considering enhancement of charges against the said accused would be accepted when
similar Criminal Revision Petitions filed the State of MP and by BGPMUS &
BGPSSS, which are certainly not barred by limitation, are heard by the Sessions
Court on 19.01.2013. BGPMUS & BGPSSS have already expressed their thorough displeasure
at the extremely slow pace at which the criminal case has been proceeding and
their demand for setting up a special court to speed up the proceedings has not
yet been acceded to by the State Government.
The
criminal case against the 3 absconding accused, which has been pending before
the Court of the CJM as Miscellaneous Judicial Case (MJC) No.91 of 1992 has
also been proceeding at a very slow pace. After acceding to the plea of BGPSSS,
BGIA and BGPMUS dated 07.09.2001, the CJM had issued notice to the Dow Chemical
Company, USA, on 06.01.2005 to appear in the criminal case on behalf of the
absconding accused No.10, Union Carbide Corporation (UCC), USA, which had
become a wholly owned subsidiary of TDCC in 2001. However, on 17.03.2005, the
MP High Court at Jabalpur had stayed the said order of the CJM at the urging of
a purportedly non-party in the matter. The stay was vacated only seven years
later on 19.10.2012, when the High Court finally upheld the validity of the CJM’s
Order dated 06.01.2005. After BGPSSS & BGPMUS brought the decision of the
High Court to the attention of the CJM through an Application dated 30.11.2012,
the case – MJC No.91/1992 – was posted for hearing on 07.01.2013. BGPSSS &
BGPMUS also brought to the attention of the CJM that proceeding against
absconding accused No.1, Warren Anderson, had not apparently progressed after
the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate, Delhi, had issued a Letter Rogatory on
23.03.2011 at the urging of the CBI for the purpose.
ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION: As
far as remediation of the affected environment in and around the former Union
Carbide plant at Bhopal was concerned, a comprehensive study to estimate the
extent and gravity of the damage has not been carried out as yet. Moreover, the
proposed plan to bury the toxic waste near Indore is wholly misconceived and
would only result in superficially shifting the problem from Bhopal to Indore. It
is the duty and responsibility of the Dow Chemical Company, USA, which
currently owns UCC, USA, to comprehensively remediate the affected environment
in and around the Union Carbide plant with the latest available technology.
Similarly, the cost for providing safe-drinking water to the affected
population residing in and around the former Union Carbide plant too has to be
borne by Dow Chemicals. However, the responsibility for providing safe drinking
water to the affected population is entirely that of the State Government,
which has not yet fulfilled its duty in this regard.
On the occasion of the 28th
anniversary of the Bhopal disaster, BGPMUS & BGPSSS reiterate their
determination to carry on their struggle to ensure justice for the victims of
that tragedy.
(Abdul
Jabbar Khan) (N.D.
Jayaprakash)
Convener,
BGPMUS, Co-Convener,
BGPSSS
Tel:
0755-2748688 Tel:
011-27666980
Mobile: +91-9406511720 Mobile: +91-9968014630
02.12.2012
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