New Delhi: A group of nine ministers, headed by P Chidambaram, got to work on Friday with a complex agenda: to right the many wrongs that have followed the Bhopal gas tragedy in 1984.
Chidambaram said the Group of Ministers (GoM), who include Law Minister Veerappa Moily and Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh, will work through the weekend and finalize its report on Monday.
Public anger - and the Opposition - has targeted the government since last week, when a court in Bhopal pronounced its verdict on those accused of causing a gas leak at a Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal in 1984. 20,000 people died. The seven Indian executives accused of criminal negligence were sentenced to two years in prison, and granted bail immediately. (
Read: Two years in prison for eight convicted in Bhopal gas tragedy)
That sentence stung India out of its inertia. Activists who have fought alone for 25 years for the victims of the tragedy suddenly found massive public support for their demands. As the discord grew louder and the Opposition's attacks more direct, the Prime Minister intervened, asking the GoM to figure out what the government should do next. (
Read: Bhopal survivors' letter to GoM)
"The mandate is to look at relief, rehabilitation, remediation and all options available to the government after the judgment of the trial court on the 7th of June. We have identified the areas that require in-depth consideration. We are looking into number of people affected, number of claims that were accepted," said Chidambaram.
The GoM's to-do list is substantial. Who should pay for the gigantic clean-up required at the defunct Carbide plant, which is still loaded with thousands of tons of toxic waste? Can the victims be better compensated financially than what the government had previous agreed to? How does India convince America to extradite Warren Anderson, the man who was the CEO of Union Carbide at the time of the gas leak? And will the Supreme Court agree to a request for tougher charges against the Indian executives who were nano-punished in last week's verdict? (
In Pics: Who is Warren Anderson?)
Activists have been arguing for years that the toxic waste at the Carbide plant continues to cause serious and long-term health problems for those living near it. The sanitization has been held up, as even life-determining issues usually are, by who will foot the bill. Since 2004, the Madhya Pradesh High Court has been considering the options. In 2005, Ram Vilas Paswan, as the Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers, said the onus lies on Dow Chemicals, which bought Union Carbide, in 2001. Paswan said Dow should deposit Rs 100 crore with the court towards the clean-up of the site.
Dow has resolutely held that it cannot be held liable for Carbide's actions or their consequences. It says that Carbide's Indian interests were sold separately to a company named Eveready.
A letter written by the Chairman of Dow Chemicals, Andrew Liveris, surfaced recently and raised the possibility of misconduct by the Indian government. In 2006, Liveris wrote to Ronen Sen, India's ambassador to the United States. Liveris referred to a meeting earlier that year where he said representatives of the government of India assured him that Dow would not be held liable for Bhopal. Liveris writes, "The Government of India leaders need to work with all Ministers to ensure that their stated position is reflected in all dealings with the court" and that "the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers should now withdraw its demand of Rs 100 crore." The question is whether the government should have made any statements at all on Dow's liability given that the matter was - and is still - being heard in the Madhya Pradesh High Court. (
Read: Dow to NDTV on no Bhopal liability)
In the recent past, one of India's best-known industrialists, Ratan Tata offered that industrialists like him would lead a Corporate India initiative for the clean-up operation required for Bhopal.
The Law Ministry's suggestion today to the GoM - that the waste be removed first and the funding be figured out later - presents a departure from its stand two years ago. At that time, in a note circulated among the highest levels of government, including the Prime Minister's Office, the Law Ministry stated that, "Irrespective of the manner in which UCC has merged or has been acquired by Dow Chemicals, if there is any legal liability, it would have to be borne by Dow Chemicals." (
Read: Dow liable for clean-up: Law Ministry |
Bhopal tragedy: Govt did its job, judiciary took time, says Moily)
Another legal issue that the GoM will evaluate is the extradition of Warren Anderson. Four days after the tragedy, Anderson arrived in Bhopal from America. Intended as a gesture of solidarity with the city of Bhopal, the trip turned into a nightmare for Anderson, and is currently haunting the government. Anderson was placed under house arrest on charges of culpable homicide till US diplomats intervened. (
Read: Bhopal gas tragedy: Centre arranged Anderson's release, says ex-US diplomat) He was then suddenly released, and escorted to the airport by senior bureaucrats and police officers. The chief minister's official plane was waiting to fly him to Delhi. Anderson left Bhopal, and then Delhi, never to return. The government's efforts to have him extradited have failed; not surprising, say experts, pointing to a marked lack of zeal in that initiative. (
Exclusive: What Anderson said in US after Bhopal tragedy)
Last week's verdict catapulted Anderson into a damning headline for the Congress. The party responded by blaming Arjun Singh, who was the Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, for the decision to provide safe passage to Anderson. But a series of accounts by former bureaucrats, US newspapers, and a US diplomat point to the union government, headed by Rajiv Gandhi, for assuring Anderson before he left for India that he would not face any action during his trip.
Also Read:Bhopal survivors' letter to GoM982 crore for Bhopal ahead of GoM meet