Who should pay to clean up the 386 tonnes of hazardous waste lying around in the Union Carbide factory the taxpayer or the polluter? Apart from health and compensation issues,the clean-up of the 67-acre Union Carbide factory has become the foremost concern of activists and survivors. And Union Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh has a lot to do with the change in priorities. When Jairam Ramesh landed in Bhopal in September this year,activists and victims had high hopes. Instead he picked up a fistful of toxic waste and stated,I am still alive,suggesting that the carcinogenic material lying at the accident site had been neutralised and was not harmful anymore. On the same day,he handled a python and said the same thing. His message was very clear. He came up with the idea of playing down the extent of the damage. It is difficult to reason with people when they have formed opinions, said Abdul Jabbar,convenor of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Udyog Sangathan. According to experts,most toxic waste left behind after the accident seeped into the ground,contaminating the water. Activists now question the governments rationale in setting up a network of pipelines to provide safe drinking water in the residential areas close to the Carbide factory if the factory site was harmless. The government is keen on getting foreign investment and hence wants to use the taxpayers money to clean up the site. Our governments policy on dealing with the Bhopal gas tragedy has always been driven by economics. They would rather side with the corporates than fight for their citizens. If there are no toxic elements,why is the government spending on a new pipeline network? asked Jabbar. In the past month,the MP government has presented two pieces of research one by Defence Research and Development Establishment (DRDE),Gwalior,and the second by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI),Nagpur both indicating that the factory site was safe and had very low toxicity. Despite the absence of a comprehensive study on the extent of contamination,the government has stated that the effects of methyl isocyanate (MIC) have been neutralised. The recent studies have suggested that the population of Bhopal is as close to normal as possible. As far as the toxic waste goes,the task force has submitted its report to the Supreme Court,which will soon decide the site of incineration, said S R Mohanty,Principal Secretary,Gas Relief and Rehabilitation Department. The task force set up by the Supreme Court will meet in January 2010 and announce the three sites short-listed for incineration of the waste. But who will foot the bill? Besides the clean-up,the MP government has sought Rs 116 crore from the Centre to build a memorial of international standard akin to the one in Hiroshima. The cost of both the clean-up and the memorial is going to be borne by the taxpayer,says Babulal Gaur,Gas Relief and Rehabilitation Minister. We have asked the Central government to pay for both these things. From our side,the proposal is pending with the Ministry of Chemicals and it suggests that Dow be made to pay Rs 100 crore for the clean-up. We have already started the clean-up operations and the Central government will have to make funds available to us, added Gaur.
