ENVIRONMENT - 2004 - Indian Social Institute

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21 st June M.P. seeks Centre’s help on Carbide waste removal (9) BHOPAL, JUNE 20.The Madhya Pradesh Minister for Urban Administration and Development, Housing and Environment and Bhopal Gas Tragedy relief and Administration, Babulal Gaur, today said that the Central Government should take serious steps to ensure the removal of highly toxic waste lying abandoned inside the Union Carbide premises in the State capital. He said that the Government of India should take necessary steps to file an appeal in the Second Circuit Court of Appeal in the United States of America before the June 30 deadline as the issue of toxic waste lying in the Carbide plant was directly linked with the life of over 15 lakh residents of Bhopal. The issue should not be taken lightly, he said and added that the President's initiative in this regard should be welcomed. Mr. Gaur was addressing a press conference here this evening. He told newspersons that the State Government had already forwarded its clearance to the Union Ministry for Chemicals for removal of the toxic waste from the Carbide premises. However, this clearance goes with the condition that the removal of toxic waste would be done strictly under the norms approved by institutions specialising in this area. Besides the State Government would not be required to bear any part of the liability involved in removing the toxic waste, he added. Mr. Gaur further reiterated the State Chief Minister, Uma Bharti's resolve saying that the State capital would soon be turned into a "slum-free model city". (Hindu 21.6.04) 'Union Carbide must be made to clean up contamination (9) NEW DELHI, JUNE 20. The indefinite fast by three social activists fighting for the cause of the Bhopal gas tragedy survivors entered the third day today at Jantar Mantar here. However, following advice from doctors, they drank water. The activists are demanding that the Union Government approach the court in the United States seeking a direction to the Union Carbide Company to clean up the contamination in and around its abandoned factory in Bhopal. The Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, Kapil Sibal, is likely to meet the activists. "In a landmark ruling on March 17, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, United States, ruled that the Union Carbide can be ordered to clean up its abandoned factory site only if the Indian Government or the State of Madhya Pradesh seeks to intervene in this action or otherwise urges the Court to order such a ruling," said Anuradha Saibaba, who is part of the international campaign for justice in Bhopal. While the Madhya Pradesh Government has given such a request, they are waiting for the Centre to act on this, the activists said. "They have given us time till June 30 and since the day is approaching, the Government must act," they said. Champa Devi Shukla, one of the gas tragedy survivors said their condition was pathetic. Explaining the conditions of the people living near the abandoned factory site, she said: "I reside in one such area. There is practically no other source of water available except the ground water and that is contaminated with dangerous chemicals and other toxins. We know that it is bad for us but we cannot do anything else. We all suffer from common health hazards like stomach ache, burning in the chest, indigestion, pain in the joints and insomnia. But there are plenty of serious side effects too. Some children are born deformed, young women start menstruation very early and menopause is also early." (Hindu 21.6.04) US court waits for NOC to make Union Carbide clean Bhopal site, Centre dithers (9) New Delhi, June 21: IN a little more than a week's time, a historic opportunity to get the Union Carbide Corporation to clean up the soil and water in its abandoned factory in Bhopal may slip by. But even as the deadline set by a New York court approaches, two ministries in India are still sorting out the bureaucratic issue of who will write the letter to clinch the issue. In March this year, the New York Federal Court had said that it could direct Union Carbide to clean up the factory ravaged by the gas leak of 1984. The only catch was that since the plant was in the Indian territory, the Indian Government would have to send a No Objection Certificate by June 30. The day is fast approaching. Bhopal activists have been on hunger strike for four days and Greenpeace members have been lobbying with government officials here for the letter. Today, after intervention from the PMO, Law Minister H R Bharadwaj, whose ministry was expected to sign the letter, finally agreed to meet the activists. But he said that it was not up to his ministry to send the letter "since it was an environmental matter". He promised to get in touch with officials from
the Ministry of Environment, saying it was up to them to issue the letter. Now, the Ministry of Environment is waiting for directions from the Law Ministry to get down to actually writing the note. (Indian Express 21..6.04) 22 nd June Hunger strike continues (9) NEW DELHI, JUNE 21. On the fourth day of the hunger strike by three activists and survivors of the Bhopal tragedy at Jantar Mantar here today, a delegation met the Union Law Minister and the Union Environment and Forests Minister to convey the urgency in responding to the U.S. Court concerned. "We were told earlier that the Law Ministry would be the Ministry concerned. In a landmark ruling on March 11, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York, USA, ruled that Union Carbide could be ordered to clean up its abandoned factory site only if 'the Indian Government or the State of Madhya Pradesh seeks to intervene in this action or otherwise urges the Court to order a such ruling'. There are just eight days left for this. But when we went and met the Minister today, he directed us to the Ministry of Environment and Forests. He also told us that a letter to this effect would also be issued to the MoEF," said Vinuta Gopal, part of the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal. Later in the evening, the delegation met Union Environment Minister, A Raja, who assured them that the Ministry would try and meet the June 30 deadline. Several activists and concerned members of civil society have extended their support for the cause. Actress Nandita Das and Swami Agnivesh have visited the activists at Jantar Mantar. (Hindu 22.6.04) Global warning: Climate change scare is official (9) New Delhi: India's initial , report to the UN on climate change notes a shift in monsoon patterns, warns of higher temperatures and a water crisis and points out that malaria may move into higher altitudes. Environment minister A Raja, a DMK man, chose to make the report public in home state Tamil Nadu on Friday, getting officials to fly down for the event. Sticking firmly to the argument that India ranks low down on the list of sinners whose activities are hastening the process of global warming, the report makes an equally clear case for the country's development needs. So, greenhouse gas emissions caused by these needs will rise — no getting away from polluting coal, for instance. What is needed is careful planning, attention to detail — and "substantial" money Some changes are already noticeable. Over the past 100 years, annual average monsoon rain hasn't shown a visible changing trend but a 10-12% increase has been recorded along the west coast, north AP and north-west India. Drops ranging between 6-8% have been observed over east MP and adjoining areas, the North-East and parts of Gujarat and Kerala. Climate models indicate the changes may be obvious after the 2040s, with maximum temperatures projected to increase by 2-4 degrees Celsius during the 2050s. Models, in fact, indicate minimum temperatures may also rise by 4 degrees Celsius across the country. (Times of India 22.6.04) No law to govern the disposal of e-waste (9) New Delhi: Personal computers may have become a household product these days, but the city is yet to get laws to govern the disposal of waste generated from them and other electronic products. A number of components in these products are hazardous and should be disposed of in an environment-friendly manner. In Delhi, as elsewhere in the country, we rely on the neighbourhood kabadiwala for disposing of defunct electronic goods. The kabadiwala usually sells it to a scrap dealer. The dealer dismantles the gadgets and keeps whatever is useful. The rest is thrown away at the cities' three landfill sites, which, incidentally, is not the right way to handle such waste. Since there are no laws to govern the disposal of e-waste, no tab is kept on exactly how much is generated. "About 30 metric tonnes (MT) of e-waste is dumped in the city every month. MCD is not responsible for handling hazardous waste. Ideally, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) should look into it," said MCD conservancy and sanitation engineering (CSE) department chief Ravi Dass. (Times of India 22.6.04) 23 rd June Media's role in protecting forests stressed (9) BHOPAL. JUNE 22.The Madhya Pradesh Forest Minister, Dhal Singh Bisen, today said that
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