The first round of burning 10 tonnes of waste out of 337 tonnes of waste from Bhopal’s Union Carbide factory on a trial basis at a waste disposal plant in Pithampur industrial area of Madhya Pradesh began on Thursday amid tight security arrangements.
Earlier, the Supreme Court refused to interfere with the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s order to transfer and dispose of the waste related to the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy at a plant operated by a private company in Pithampur of Dhar district.
In this regard, a bench of Justice BR Gavai and Justice AG Masih also refused to stay the trial of disposal of waste from the plant of ‘Union Carbide India Limited’ on Thursday.
The apex court has asked the aggrieved parties, including members of civil society organizations opposing waste disposal, to approach the High Court. The High Court is already hearing this case. A police officer said that security has been increased in Pithampur industrial area after the order of the Supreme Court.
The officer said that about 500 policemen from 24 police stations have been deployed in this area and senior police and administration officials have also reached the spot.
Indore divisional commissioner Deepak Singh said, “The testing process has started before burning of the waste of Union Carbide factory in Pithampur’s waste disposal unit. According to the set parameters, the waste container is being opened and the waste is being transported to the plant.”
He said, “The plant is being prepared to burn the waste and I think that probably from Friday morning, 10 tonnes of waste will start burning as a test.”
The commissioner said that the process of burning the waste will be completed in the presence of scientists from the Center and State Pollution Control Board. Singh said that the industrial waste disposal plant in Pithampur where the waste of Union Carbide factory is to be burnt has such a system that if the emission of any gas exceeds the prescribed limit during burning of waste, then this plant will be shut down automatically.
Meanwhile, social activists opposing the disposal of waste said that they will approach the High Court. They said that the apex court heard them and asked them to present their case in the High Court.
Sandeep Raghuvanshi, one of the protesters, said, “Our lawyers have said that they will strongly present their case in the High Court. Our movement will continue. We will talk to the people of Pithampur through our lawyers and will take the movement forward in the manner suggested by them.”
As part of the plan to dispose of 337 tonnes of waste from the closed Union Carbide factory in Bhopal, it was transported to an industrial waste disposal plant in Pithampur, about 250 km from Bhopal, on January 2.
In an order dated February 18, Madhya Pradesh High Court Chief Justice Suresh Kumar Kait and Justice Vivek Jain had said that the first test of 10 tonnes of waste should be conducted on February 27 following safety norms and if it does not have any adverse effect, then the second test should be conducted on March 4 and the third test on March 10.
