MP News: The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Monday (6 January) gave the state government six weeks to act on the Union Carbide factory's waste disposal as per safety guidelines and also directed the media not to spread false news on the issue of waste disposal. According to information, the waste packed in a total of 12 sealed containers was transported from Bhopal to the disposal site at Pithampur in Dhar district on January 2.

A division bench of Chief Justice S K Kait and Justice Vivek Jain of the High Court granted six weeks' time to the state government after Advocate General Prashant Singh urged it to take the people of Pithampur into confidence and remove fear from their minds before starting the waste disposal. Singh told the court that unrest was created in Pithampur town due to imaginary and false news about Union Carbide waste disposal.

After the state government presented its side, the bench directed the print, audio and visual media not to carry any false news on the matter. The protesters claim that disposal of the plant's waste will be harmful to humans and the environment. Apart from this, the state has sought three days to unload the waste transferred from Bhopal to Pithampur in 12 sealed containers.

The High Court bench said that it is the prerogative of the state to take action on this matter in a safe and according to the guidelines. Methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal on the midnight of 2 and 3 December 1984, in which at least 5,479 people were killed and thousands were seriously injured and the accident caused health problems in the surrounding areas for a long time.

One of the world's worst industrial disasters

During the last hearing on December 3, 2024, the Madhya Pradesh High Court had pulled up the authorities for failing to dispose of the waste lying at the now-defunct Union Carbide factory. He said that even after 40 years of the gas disaster, the officials are in a 'state of inaction', which could lead to another tragedy. The court had asked the government to remove and transport the waste from the site within four weeks and also warned of contempt proceedings if action was not taken on the direction.

The court's direction came on a writ petition filed in 2004 for disposal of waste from Union Carbide. The Union Carbide accident was one of the world's worst industrial disasters. Petitioner's lawyer Naman Nagrath said on Monday that the waste should be disposed of safely after testing.