Dirty
business
Victims
of the world's worst industrial accident in Bhopal in 1984 have
filed a case in the Jabalpur High Court asking for more compensation.
The Chemical & Fertilisers Ministry has also filed an affidavit
in
the case, seeking Rs 100 crore as initial compensation for Union
Carbide India's liability for cleaning up the contamination at the
factory site. But, the Industries Department wants an out-of-court
settlement and a withdrawal of this affidavit.
Rajiv
Gandhi had
similarly compromised on an out-of-court settlement with Carbide for $
470 million 20 years ago, dashing the hopes of the survivors of some
2,500 victims who died in the accident overnight and many thousands
subsequently, as well as those who continue to suffer from respiratory
and eye ailments, not to mention the severe trauma of losing loved ones
to an invisible gas.
There
is a
consensus in the highest echelons of
the Congress that it is India's best interests for the US chemical
multinational to invest in the country by getting rid of the obstacle
that is Bhopal.
It
is not as if
Dow Chemical has an impeccable record
when it comes to manufacturing lethal chemicals. It was the sole
supplier of the highly inflammable chemical, napalm, which the US used
in Vietnam.
As
controversially, it (and Monsanto) produced Agent Orange
- the toxic defoliant which was dropped widely over Vietnam to flush
out the Viet Cong.
In
Bhopal, the
Tata group has suggested setting up a
"remediation" fund to clean up 8,000 tonnes of toxic material, which is
still lying at the site. US senators and Dow executives have been
lobbying with the Prime Minister too, which explains the current
rapprochement. It will be a tragedy if, in the attempt to be pragmatic
in seeking a massive US investment, the government caves in and lets
Dow off the hook.
Darryl
D'Monte,
The Hindustan Times, 29 Oct 2007
Govt may clear Dow Chemicals path
The
Department of Industries has moved a Cabinet
note asking the government to absolve Dow Chemicals of all legal
liabilities. The note provides for an out of court settlement and the
withdrawal of an affidavit filed in the MP High court seeking Rs. 100
crore as initial compensation for the Bhopal disaster. It is based on
the Law Ministry's opinion that Dow Chemicals does not own the
financial liabilities of Union Carbide, the main accused in the case.
The government had sought the Law Ministry's opinion after Dow
Chemicals had expressed its wish to make huge investments in India,
provided the legal hurdles were removed.
On December 3,1984, a Union
Carbide subsidiary pesticide plant in Bhopal released 40 tonnes of
methyl isocyanate gas killing nearly 3,000 people immediately and
15,000 to 22,000 ultimately. It is cited as one of the world's worst
industrial disasters.
Chetan
Chauhan,
The Hindustan Times, 22 Oct 2007
