Union Carbide waste shifted to Dhar not poisonous: MP CM Yadav

Amid protests over the shifting of waste from the Union Carbide factory here to Dhar for disposal, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav on Thursday said it was not poisonous and there should be no politics over it.

Addressing a press conference in Bhopal, Yadav said scientific studies have been carried out and a safe technology will be used in the incineration process.

Politics should not be done over the issue, the chief minister said.

Dhar guardian minister Kailash Vijayvargiya will talk to the people in that district and share information that the waste was "not at all poisonous" or harmful, he said.

Forty years after the Bhopal gas tragedy, 377 tons of waste has been shifted from the defunct Union Carbide factory for its disposal at a unit in Dhar district.

It was transported at around 9 pm on Wednesday in 12 sealed container trucks via a 'green corridor' from Bhopal to Pithampur industrial area in Dhar district, located 250 km away.

Amid tight security, the vehicles reached around 4.30 am on Thursday at a factory in Pithampur where the waste will be disposed of, a senior police official said in earlier in the day.

A group of people led by an organisation took out a protest rally in Pithampur against shifting of the waste there.

They claimed the waste disposal in Pithampur was unsafe for its residents and the environment.

The protesters also called for 'Pithampur Bandh' on Friday.

A large number of people on Sunday also took out a protest march in Pithampur to oppose the disposal of Union Carbide waste in the city, having a population of about 1.75 lakh and located 30 km from Indore.

The highly toxic methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide factory on the intervening night of December 2-3, 1984, killing at least 5,479 persons and leaving thousands with serious and long-lasting health issues.

It is considered to be among the worst industrial disasters in the world.

The Madhya Pradesh High Court on December 3, 2024 rebuked authorities for not clearing the Union Carbide site in Bhopal despite directions from even the Supreme Court.

The HC set a four-week deadline to shift the waste, observing that even 40 years after the gas tragedy, authorities were in a "state of inertia".

The high court had warned the government of contempt proceedings if its directive was not followed.

"If everything is found to be fine, the waste will be incinerated within three months. Otherwise, it might take up to nine months," Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department Director Swatantra Kumar Singh said on Wednesday.

Initially, some of the waste will be burnt at the disposal unit in Pithampur and the residue (ash) will be examined to find whether any harmful elements are left, he said.

The smoke from the incinerator will pass through special four-layer filters so that the surrounding air is not polluted, he added.

Once it is confirmed that no traces of toxic elements are left, the ash will be covered by a two-layer membrane and buried to ensure it does not come in contact with soil and water in any way.

A team of experts under the supervision of officials of the Central Pollution Control Board and State Pollution Control Board will carry out the process, Singh said.