Compensation to Victims of Bhopal Gas Tragedy

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Press Information Bureau Ministry of I&B <pib.kolkata@gmail.com>
Date: Fri, Aug 6, 2010 at 1:15 PM
Subject: Releases...............pt1

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

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Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers                      

Compensation to Victims of Bhopal Gas Tragedy

New Delhi: August 6, 2010.

 

Out of the 390 MT of stored toxic wastes lying at UCIL plant, 40 MT of lime sludge has been disposed off in the Treatment, Storage, disposal Facility (TSDF) at Pithampur in June, 2008. Attempts to dispose off the remaining 350 MT of toxic wastes at Ankleshwar, Gujarat could not fructify. On endorsement by Supreme Court of the decision of the Task Force that the new incinerator at Pithampur, MP will be made operational at the earliest after which the wastes can be incinerated in that incinerator. All the necessary clearances have since been given by all agencies of the Government of Madhya Pradesh for operationalisation of the incinerator at Pithampur on 7th May, 2010.

In addition, the government has accepted the recommendations of the Group of Ministers (GoM) and established an Oversight Committee in the Ministry of Environment and Forests to provide oversight and support to the government of Madhya Pradesh for taking necessary remediation action. The Government of India has also decided to bear the cost of remediation in the first instance and claim restitution from the persons/companies liable for the damage on the principle of 'polluter pays'. An application has already been filed in the High Court of MP to expeditiously decide the question of liability of Dow Chemicals Company and/or other successor to UCC/UCIL.

The Office of the Welfare commissioner, Bhopal Gas victims, set up under the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster (Processing of Claims) Act, 1985 awarded the actual compensation of approximately Rs. 3058.44 crore as on 30.6.2010, which comprises approx. Rs. 1548.56 crore awarded as compensation to 5,74,375 original claimants and an additional compensation of approx. Rs. 1509.88 crore paid to 5,62,647 of these claimants on pro-rata basis in the ratio of 1:1.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Shri Srikant Kumar Jena in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.

 

dnm/pkm/sb/dk/kol/13:13 hrs.

 

Press Information Bureau

Government of India

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Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers                      

Smuggling and Black Marketing of Fertilizers

New Delhi: August 6, 2010.

 

State Governments have been advised by the Department of Fertilizers to keep a vigil and to check smuggling of fertilizers from India to other neighbouring countries through land and sea routes.

Similarly Union Home Ministry has also alerted Border guarding forces viz. Border Security Force (BSF), Indo-Tibetan Border Police, Assam Rifles and Sashstra Seema Bal and Coast Guard to maintain strict vigilance on the borders to curb smuggling of fertilizers. Further, Ministry of Home Affairs has also addressed the Chief Secretaries to the Government of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal to sensitize the authorities concerned to curb the smuggling of fertilizers into the neighbouring countries.

Under Clause 21 of the Fertilizer (Control) Order, 1985 (FCO), it is mandatory to print the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) on the bags of fertilizers and no person is permitted to sell the material above the statutory/indicative price. The State Governments are adequately empowered under the provisions of the Fertilizer (Control) Order, 1985 to check such activities. Any violation of the provisions of the FCO, 1985 attracts penal/administrative action under the Essential Commodities Act 1955/FCO, 1985. State Governments have been advised to prevent such malpractices and ensure that the farmers are provided with proper quality of fertilizers at statutory/indicative price.

Department of Fertilizers has written to Chief Secretaries of the States having international boundaries for initiating action against person/persons involved in smuggling of fertilizers with the help of Central/State enforcement agencies.

This information was given by the Minister of State for Chemicals and Fertilizers Shri Srikant Kumar Jena in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.

 

dnm/pkm/sb/dk/kol/13:13 hrs.

--
Palash Biswas
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