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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Centre seeks Rs. 5,786 crore for Bhopal gas victims by J Venkatesan

Centre seeks Rs. 5,786 crore for Bhopal gas victims by J Venkatesan

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published Published on Dec 3, 2010   modified Modified on Dec 3, 2010

Curative plea filed in Supreme Court on anniversary of tragedy

Coinciding with the anniversary of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, the Centre on Friday filed a curative petition seeking enhancement of the compensation of $ 470 million determined by the Supreme Court in 1989 on the ground that this settlement was arrived at on the basis of assumptions of truth unrelated to realities.

The Centre as parens patriae (parent of the nation) of the victims of the world's largest industrial disaster already filed a curative petition for restoration of the stringent charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, which attracts the maximum punishment of 10-year jail term, against the accused.

The petition, drawn by advocate Devadatt Kamat and settled by Attorney-General G.E. Vahanvati, has cited as respondents the Union Carbide Corporation, now a wholly owned subsidiary of Dow Chemicals Co., U.S.; Dow Chemicals ; McLeod Russel India, Kolkata, and Eveready Industries, Kolkata.

The present petition sought a review of the May 4, 1989 and October 3, 1991 orders, contending that the 1989 settlement was seriously impaired. An additional compensation of Rs. 675.96 crore under various categories had become due and payable in 1989. “Since the said amount is being claimed in 2010, several aspects such as devaluation of the rupee, interest rate, purchasing power parity and the inflation index have to be factored in while computing the claim amount.” So the total would come to Rs. 5,786 crore.

In addition, Rs. 1743.15 crore for relief and rehabilitation, which Madhya Pradesh undertook due to the tort on the part of the Union Carbide India Limited and the Union Carbide Corporation and other respondents, had to be reimbursed on the ‘polluter pays' principle. The petition also claimed Rs. 315.7 crore towards measures for remedying environmental degradation caused by the respondents.

The Centre said that after the trial court in Bhopal pronounced its verdict in the criminal case against the accused on June 7 awarding two-year imprisonment there was widespread public outcry and concern throughout the country. This led to a comprehensive reconsideration and review at the highest level by the Union of India of all issues of the gas tragedy and its aftermath.

On compensation, a thorough review of all issues was conducted. Various extremely hazardous wastes were lying on and around the factory premises. But the impugned judgments and orders “do not take into account the impact of the disaster on the environment” and as “the respondents are liable to pay the costs on account of environmental degradation it is imperative that the settlement figure be reworked keeping in mind the true ground realities i.e. the actual number of fatalities and injuries.”

The petition said “the total number of death cases resulting from the tragedy is 5,295, whereas the impugned order proceeds on the basis that there were only about 3,000 deaths. Similarly, the number of cases of minor injuries is 5,27,894, whereas the impugned order proceeded on the basis that there were only 50,000 such cases. ”

The Centre said: “The RBI has reckoned that if the amount was invested at monthly, half yearly or yearly LIBOR, then the investment at yearly LIBOR would yield the highest return. Accordingly, the amount of additional compensation to be claimed should be $ 1241.38 million or Rs. 5,786.07 crore at present value.” and sought a direction in this regard.


The Hindu, 4 December, 2010, http://www.hindu.com/2010/12/04/stories/2010120464520100.htm


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