Bhopal gas tragedy: GoM to review progress on recommendations tomorrow

The Group of Ministers (GoM) on Bhopal gas tragedy will review the progress made on its recommendations, which were approved by the Union Cabinet three months ago, on Monday.

The GoM, headed by Union Home minister P Chidambaram, will assess the steps taken by various ministries since June, based on its recommendations that had sought to correct the ?injustice? meted out to the victims and survivors of the country?s worst industrial tragedy.

A presentation on the proposed National Litigation Policy, which seeks to put in place a mechanism to monitor government litigations so that cases such as the Bhopal gas tragedy are noticed before it is too late, is also expected to be made before the GoM.

The GoM, which was formed following mass protests against the government for not doing enough to book those guilty of the incident, had made 22 recommendations, which were accepted by the Union Cabinet.

The GoM had recommended legal recourse to enhance charges against those responsible for the world?s worst industrial disaster, including pursuance of extradition of former Union Carbide CEO Warren Anderson from the United States.

It also focused on health-related and compensation issues of the victims and survivors of the Bhopal gas leakage tragedy of December 2-3, 1984.

A relief and remediation package of Rs 1265.56 crore was also announced.

Besides Chidambaram, other members of the panel include Law minister V Moily, Health minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Urban Development minister S J Reddy, Road Transport minister Kamal Nath, Poverty Alleviation minister Kumari Selja, Chemicals and Fertilisers minister M K Alagiri, Environment minister Jairam Ramesh and Minister in the PMO Prithviraj Chavan

Seeking to further compensate for the lapses in previous court rulings, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had in August filed a curative petition before the Supreme Court seeking restoration of stringent charge of culpable homicide not amounting to murder, which attracts maximum punishment of ten-year jail term, against the accused in the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy case.

A lower court in Bhopal had awarded mere two years of imprisonment to seven convicted Union Carbide officials for the incident in December 1984 that had claimed over 20,000 lives and seriously afflicted thousands others.