The Supreme Court has put on hold its order directing disposal of toxic wastes lying in the Union Carbide India Ltd (UCIL) plant, now represented by DOW Chemical Company.

The apex court deferred the implementation of its April 4, 2011 order in the wake of various issues raised by the Madhya Pradesh Government and some NGOs about the possible fall-out of the

trial run for the disposal of wastes. The Group of Ministers (GoM) considering the issue is yet to take a final decision in the matter. A Bench comprising justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhayay said waste disposal had to be carried out without harming any individual.

The Bench indicated if the GoM came out with a decision, preferably within two weeks, the matter could be heard during the vacation and a request could be made to the Chief Justice of India for constituting a Bench to hear it.

The court noted that despite the suffering of the people for the last 28 years, the Centre and the state government have failed to arrive at the modalities for disposal of the toxic wastes lying at the erstwhile factory of UCIL.

It also made clear that though there was a proposal for disposal and incineration of wastes at Pithampur facility, it would not like that any harmful affect would arise in a new place as the nearest village was only half a km away from the site.