Bhopal toxic waste incineration halted amid protest, HC hearing on Jan 6

BHOPAL: Following protests in Pithampur, Dhar district, against the planned incineration of 40-year-old 358 metric tonnes of toxic waste from Bhopal's defunct Union Carbide plant, the Madhya Pradesh government has decided to convey the industrial town's apprehensions, concerns, and sentiments to the court.

“Our government accords top priority to the public interest. The toxic waste of the Union Carbide plant has been transported to the waste disposal centre in Pithampur in pursuance of the last month’s High Court order, directing us to shift the waste safely to the waste treatment and disposal facility in Pithampur in four weeks, before the next date of hearing on January 6. Keeping in mind the public concerns and apprehensions, we’ve decided to not progress any further (on the incineration of waste) in the matter, till the next court order. The government will present before the court, the entire concerns, sentiments and apprehensions of the local residents related to the planned disposal of waste and wait for the next court order to act any further,” MP CM Dr Mohan Yadav said, after chairing a lengthy emergency meeting of the government's senior brass on the subject in Bhopal late Friday night.

The MP High Court is set to hear the 2004 petition on January 6, on which it ordered the state government on December 3, 2024, to remove the toxic material from Bhopal (for planned disposal) within four weeks, TNIE reported.

Around 11 hours after the Friday late-night emergency meeting in Bhopal, one lone incident of stone pelting by locals was reported on Saturday morning, outside the treatment-storage-disposal facility (TSDF) where the 358 tonnes of toxic waste is scheduled to be burnt.

“Possibly out of some rumours about the waste transported to the TSDF in Pithampur from Bhopal on January 2 morning, more than 100 residents from the Tarpura village (where the waste treatment and disposal plant is based) pelted stones outside the plant and also tried to spray chilly powder in the eyes of the on-duty cops on Saturday morning. The police, however, chased the mob, including women and also fired tear gas shells to disperse the agitated villagers. A case will be lodged in the matter later this evening,” a senior state police officer camping in Pithampur town said.

The incident occurred about 10.30 a.m. on Saturday, as the Dhar district administration issued prohibitory orders surrounding the TSDF in Pithampur town.

Also, five FIRs have been filed by local police in connection with the public disturbance caused by protestors in Pithampur town during the Pithampur Bandh on Friday. One of the FIRs relates to an event in which two individuals attempted self-immolation during a public protest and sustained burn injuries.

“The probe into that incident strongly suggests that it was a third person, who actually lit up the flame, which caught both the men (attempting self-immolation) by surprise. Further investigations are underway,” the police officer said.

Meanwhile, top administrative and police officials from the Indore region met with public representatives and prominent citizens of Pithampur for approximately 45 minutes on Saturday and communicated the MP CM's message, promising them that their grievances and concerns about the scheduled waste incineration would be presented to the High Court on January 6.

Nothing will happen about waste disposal at the TSDF until the next court order is issued. Pithampur is a prominent industrial town in Madhya Pradesh, located around 50 kilometres from the district headquarters in Dhar and 30 kilometres from Indore. It has 700 industries (most of which are in the automobile sector) and a population of roughly Rs 1.75 lakh.