The Madhya Pradesh High Court has cautioned that having "unflinching faith" in the engineering prowess of the state may be an "invitation to disaster," as it directed the state government to explore alternate sites for disposing of residual ash from the incinerated Bhopal Gas Tragedy waste. A Division Bench comprising Justice Atul Sreedharan and Justice Pradeep Mittal expressed deep apprehension about the state’s chosen location for containing the residual ash from the incineration of toxic waste from the UCC factory site. The Bench observed that “new roads are washed away in rains and bridges collapse and, worse still, when railway overbridges are constructed with a right-angle turn, reducing this state to a laughingstock nationwide.” The court had earlier directed the state to identify alternate locations, but the government continued to advocate for a site close to residential areas. The court has now directed the state to examine alternate sites far away from human habitation, vegetation, and water sources. The state did not provide any response regarding an alternate location that the court had suggested on the last date of hearing, continuing instead to back the site identified — 500 metres away from human habitation. “Earlier also, this court had voiced its apprehension of containing the residual waste proximate to human habitation, as the residual waste is still toxic in nature,” the order stated, warning that any breach of the containment structure due to natural disasters like earthquakes “would be another disaster in the waiting.” The court’s concerns were reinforced by findings that tests conducted on the toxic ash still showed mercury levels higher than permissible limits, according to the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board’s report dated August 12, 2025. Despite the state presenting an animated video showcasing what it described as a “state-of-the-art” containment facility employing modern safety measures, the court remained unconvinced that the structure would be “absolutely impervious to any kind of breach occasioned by unforeseen geo-tectonic activity.” The court questioned the reliability of the state’s engineering capabilities, citing recent infrastructure failures across Madhya Pradesh. “However, in times when new roads are washed away in rains and bridges collapse and, worse still, when railway overbridges are constructed with a right-angle turn, reducing this State to a laughingstock nationwide, reposing unflinching faith in the engineering prowess of the State may be an invitation to disaster,” the bench observed. The court clarified that its scepticism should not be seen as mockery but as necessary caution, describing its approach as “the result of being once bitten, twice shy”. The judges invoked the Bhopal Gas Tragedy as a stark reminder of what can happen when safety is compromised. “The UCIL factory at Bhopal was safe, till disaster struck and nearly twenty thousand lives were snuffed out in an instant, with five hundred thousand others suffering respiratory and vision issues for the rest of their lives,” the order noted. The court emphasized that when dealing with toxic ash containment, “perhaps till Kingdom Come, no amount of caution is in excess.”
