Supreme Court orders incineration of Bhopal's toxic waste at non-functional treatment facility in Dhar district

The Supreme court has ordered the disposal of the toxic waste lying in the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal at the Pithampur waste treatment storage and disposal facility (TSDF) in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district. But the facility, located 200 km from Bhopal, is yet to be made operational.

The order passed on April 4, 2012 directed the authorities to first carry out trial runs and then incinerate the waste at the earliest. The order comes close on the heels of a Madhya Pradesh High Court order that directed the Central government to appear in person through the secretary of environment and forests to explain what is to be done with the 350 tonnes of toxic waste that has been lying at the Union Carbide plant since 1984 when the Bhopal gas leak disaster occurred.

Environmentalists feel that the Pithampur facility is inadequate to deal with such toxic waste.

The Supreme Court order practically overrules the Jabalpur High Court which is hearing a case pertaining to the contamination caused by the toxic waste lying at the plant site. The case being heard since 2004 was scheduled to be heard by the high court on April 9. But before the matter could be heard, the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) moved a special leave petition (SLP) in the Supreme Court and obtained an order to send the waste to Pithampur.

Justices G S Singhvi and Sudhansu Jyoti Mukhopadhaya directed the authorities concerned—the Madhya Pradesh government and its pollution control board and the Central Pollution Control Board(CPCB)—to take all the necessary steps to ensure effective implementation of the decision taken in the meeting held on February 22, 2012 without any delay. The inter-ministerial meeting was called by MoEF to decide on disposing of Bhopal's toxic waste. The Supreme Court order further states that by July this year the authorities should have carried out trial disposal of the waste and submit a report to the high court. “After considering the report, the high court may issue appropriate directions in the matter of disposal of the waste,” says the apex court order.

Treatment facility out of order

But by the government's own admission the treatment facility is nowhere near adequate. The Madhya Pradesh government is pursuing a case against the private company managing the TSDF, Ramky Enviro Engineers. MoEF carried out three inspections of the facility—in 2007, 2008 and 2009—and highlighted many shortcomings. “No treatment has been proposed for waste-water or leachate generated from TSDF,” states a CPCB report of 2008. As recently as January 2012, responses to Right To Information (RTI) queries show the plant is not functioning properly and there is severe soil and water contamination around the facility. (See Ramky's waste treatment facility contaminating surroundings: CPCB').

CPCB officials admit there are certain issues to be cleared before the trial runs can be conducted as the incinerator is not working. But when asked whether this is the reason for the delay of the disposal of the toxic waste, Vinod Babu, head of the hazardous waste division of CPCB, says: “I cannot comment as there is too much public pressure and social circumstances when dealing with Bhopal waste... It has little scientific basis.”
 
Rachna Dhigra of advocacy group Bhopal Group for Information and Action says MoEF has hurriedly obtained the order just because the official concerned was unwilling to appear in person before the high court and that the latest order has created confusion. The apex court while ordering the speedy disposal of the waste also suspended the personal appearance demanded by the high court. Dhingra explains that the apex court order is problematic on more than one level as it is based on the February 22, 2012 meeting called by MoEF where no representative of the Madhya Pradesh government or the Bhopal survivor groups were present. “A unilateral decision was reached by the Government of India to incinerate the Bhopal's toxic waste in Pithampur,” says Dhingra. 

While MoEF got the apex court to overrule the Jabalpur High Court, the Pithampur TSDF is yet to be tested with normal waste, which the CPCB is to monitor and report on. Only after that the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board (MPPCB) can clear the operations.

“We are ready to carry out the disposal at the earliest as the plant's capacity is two tonnes per hour and as per the court order we are only required to test 10 tonnes. But MPPCB has to give us clearance,” says Vinod Babu of CPCB. He refused to comment on the reasons for delay on part of CPCB.

The state pollution control Board officials were more forthright. R K Srivastava, superintendent engineer of MPPCB says the clearance can only be given if the plant is cleared by CPCB and so far that has not happened. He adds that the Madhya Pradesh government has opposed the disposal of the hazardous waste for a number of years. He says “things are not clear” after the latest order of the apex court. He explains that the state pollution control board has been unable to dispose of waste at the Pithampur site because of technical shortcomings in the plant, which are recognised and acknowledged by CPCB. 

Contamination around Pithampur waste facility

In January, activists obtained information under RTI that shows soil and water contamination around the Pithampur facility. “Samples of ground water and soil does not conform to standards prescribed by MPPCB, the Bureau of India Standards'  IS code: 10500, which specifies drinking water standards, or the standard prescribed in the Environment Protection Rules of 1986,” says Dhingra. She adds that in 2011, in an internal committee meeting, the Madhya Pradesh minister for Housing and Environment went as far as to say that the Pithampur waste management facility was in the catchment area of Yashwant Sagar Dam which supplies water to residents of Indore. Dhingra says that there are enough instances and proof to show that the Pithampur site is illegal and therefore incapable of handling the Union Carbide toxic waste. Following the apex court decision would only increase contamination and further endanger lives. 

For the  past eight years, the survivors organisations have been pointing out that there is no facility in India that can safely dispose of the Union Carbide's waste. It is unfortunate that the Supreme Court has now directed the disposal of this waste to an illegal facility. It is high time that Dow Chemical is made to pay for the transport and safe disposal of the waste in any of the OECD countries,” adds Dhingra.

The apex court order has caused grave concern among both environmentalists and rights' activists while creating confusion among the Central and state government agencies. The Madhya Pradesh government and rights' groups are planning to file a review petition against the SC order.

Ramky's waste treatment facility contaminating surroundings: CPCB

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