The top court refuses to halt disposal of hazardous waste from Bhopal gas tragedy, directs aggrieved parties to approach High Court
The Supreme Court on Thursday (February 27, 2025) remarked the petitioners opposed to the transportation and disposal of 337 metric tons of Bhopal gas tragedy toxic waste at a Pithampur facility in Madhya Pradesh are indulging in the ‘NIMBY’ (not in my backyard) principle
A Bench headed by Justice BR Gavai rejected the pleas made by the local populace of Pithampur and civil rights organisations to intervene in a Madhya Pradesh High Court order on December 3 to shift and destroy the hazardous waste which had been lying buried in and about the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) plant site for nearly 40 years after a methyl isocyanate gas leak claimed over 5400 lives in one of the biggest industrial disasters in history.
“You seem to be following the NIMBY principle, that is, not in my backyard. You are saying if they want to pollute, they may do it somewhere else, but not in my backyard. Not in Indore,” Justice Gavai remarked at the petitioners.
The court noted that the State action to take the waste to Pithampur and dispose it there was based on reports by an expert committee which had comprised Central and State officials, the Director of the National Environment Engineering Institute (NEERI), the Director of the National Geophysical Research Institute (NGRI) and the Chairman of the Central Pollution Control Board.
The Bench said even the Supreme Court consulted NEERI if it faced difficulties in adjudications involving environmental issues. The NGRI was similarly acclaimed in the field of geophysics.