The government today admitted that the Bhopal gas tragedy in 1984 was not dealt with enough seriousness. Replying to a short duration discussion in Lok Sabha on the issue, the Home Minister Mr. P. Chidambaram said that the government is taking measures to reopen the case to punish the guilty. He said for this, a curative petition is being filed with the proper section of the law to nail the culprits.The Home Minister informed the House that no charges have been quashed against the then Union Carbide CEO, Warren Anderson. Mr. Chidambaram said that CBI is seeking extradition of Warren Anderson after due legal consultations so that no loop hole is left when such a request is made to the U.S. authority.The Home Minister said, the government is making all out efforts to properly compensate the victims of the gas tragedy. He informed the House that the total number of deaths in the tragedy was accrued as 5295 due to gas leakage by the Social Welfare Commissioner who is a sitting Judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court.The Minister said that it does not mean that many others did not die due to injuries caused by the leakage. He said that another 10,000 people might have died due to injury.The Home Minister informed the House that the Cabinet has taken a decision to increase the amount of compensation. He said after due deliberation of GoM, it was decided to raise the compensation for deaths to 10 lakhs, for permanent disability five lakhs, for cancer two lakhs, for total renal failure two lakhs and temporary disability one lakh. He said the total liability of 669 crore rupees under the increased compensation will be borne by the Central government.The Home Minister made a fervent appeal to the members of the House and the people to come forward with the cases where the victims have not been compensated. He said, that the government will ensure that all the victims are duly compensated. On disposal of toxic waste at the accident site, Mr. Chidambaram assured the House that the government is willing to work in close cooperation with the Madhya Pradesh government for its safe disposal.Earlier, initiating the debate, the Leader of the Opposition, Mrs Sushma Swaraj demanded better compensation for the victims of the tragedy, quashing of the 1989 agreement between the Corporation and the Centre and making of Madhya Pradesh Government a party to the case, filed by NGOs against the Union Carbide in a New York court.Defending the government, Mr Manish Tiwari of the Congress denied the opposition charges that the government did not pursue the case in the US court. He also rubbished the allegations that it was the then Congress government at the Centre which was responsible for the safe passage of Anderson. Participating in the debate in Rajya Sabha , the then Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Mr Arjun said that Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh should take up the issue of Extradition of Anderson with US President Obama during his visit to India later this year. He said that former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi never uttered a single word in support of Anderson or trying to mitigate the problems faced by him.Mr. Arjun Singh however, said that there were persistent calls from Union Home Ministry officials at that time to grant Anderson bail. Earlier initiating the discussion BJP leader, Mr. Ravi Shankar Prasad, strongly criticised the CBI for its what he called double standards in dealing with important issues. He alleged that justice and accountability have been the casualties in the case. Defending the government, Mr Ashwini Kumar of the Congress, said that instead of finding common ways to provide succour to the affected families, BJP is only scoring political points.
News On AIR | August 11, 2010 9:14 PM
‘Govt taking measures to reopen Bhopal gas tragedy case: HM