State to oppose move to dispose of toxic waste

The state government will oppose the move to dispose of the toxic waste lying at the defunct Union Carbide factory in Bhopal for the last 27 years, at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Nagpur.

The state government will oppose the move to dispose of the toxic waste lying at the defunct Union Carbide factory in Bhopal for the last 27 years, at the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Nagpur.

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State environment minister Sanjay Deotale informed the state assembly on Wednesday that the government had hired a team of senior counsels to move the Jabalpur high court opposing the decision to incinerate 346 tonnes of toxic waste at DRDO.

Jabalpur court is to hear the case on Thursday.

According to experts, there was no facility in India that could handle this kind of toxic waste, Deotale added.

“The transportation and disposal of 346 tonnes of this waste would take close to two years at DRDO. It poses a safety risk and we are not willing to take it. The MP government did not inform us about this decision. In this case, a NOC from the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) is mandatory."

Deotale added that DRDO could take an independent decision on disposing atomic or radioactive waste but in this case approval of the state pollution body was required.

The Jabalpur high court had directed the MP government to dispose of this waste in Nagpur on July 12 after the DRDO informed the court that it had the requisite facilities. This was challenged by several of NGOs.