By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net
Bhopal : Organizations representing survivors of Bhopal gas tragedy, the world’s worst industrial disaster, and the victims of water contamination in Bhopal today sent a letter to the Prime Minister of India clarifying that their demands for legal action against Dow Chemical and Union Carbide only expect the Government to help law take its course.
‘The remaining demands – relating to extradition of Warren Anderson and Union Carbide, deregistering the pesticides Dursban, Nurelle and Pride, and revoking the license granted to Reliance to import Union Carbide’s Unipol technology – are all legally mandated. By asking you to meet them, we’re merely demanding that the Government assist the law in taking its course,’ the letter said.
In 1992, the Bhopal Chief Judicial Magistrate ordered the Federal Government to take steps, including initiating extradition proceedings, to enforce the appearance of Warren Anderson as well as Union Carbide’s representative in court. The Government of India has failed to make any concerted attempt to bring Union Carbide’s authorized representative or Anderson to India.
In 2006, in an effort to send an ‘encouraging’ signal to Dow Chemical and US investors, the Ministry of Industries and Commerce approved the purchase of Union Carbide’s Unipol technology by Reliance Industries. The technology, because of its ownership, is confiscable under the 1992 order of the Magistrate directing attachment of Union Carbide’s assets in India. The Ministry of Industries and Commerce has permitted Reliance to purchase the property of an absconder overriding objections by the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers.
On both counts, the Government cannot have any valid reason for disobeying the magistrate’s orders, the letter pointed out.
The letter thanked the Prime Minister for personally intervening in support of a special Commission. However, the organizations said even this announcement was devoid of crucial details such as budget and lifetime of the Commission.
Survivors’ organizations said the Commission must extend rehabilitation to water-affected persons, and be assured of a corpus of Rs. 2 billions to enable its functioning over a minimum period of 30 years.
The survivors’ organizations have asked the Prime Minister to ensure that the Commission is empowered through an Act of the Parliament. They have suggested that the draft bill be finalized in consultation with survivor organizations and tabled in the Parliament in the monsoon session.
Bhopal groups have endorsed the nomination of Dr. P.M. Bhargava, founder and former director of the Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, as chairperson of the Commission.
‘We are hopeful that all our demands will be met after the Government’s June 3 high-level meeting. But we are prepared to remain here as long as it takes to ensure that India’s interests are not sacrificed to placate Dow Chemical and the corporate lobby,’ the
organizations said.
The letter to the Prime Minister was signed by Rashida Bee and Champa Devi Shukla on behalf of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmachari Sangh, Syed Mohammad Irfan on behalf of Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangarsh Morcha and Rachna Dhingra and Satinath Sarangi on behalf of Bhopal Group for Information and Action.
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