The Madhya Pradesh High Court has directed key authorities, including the Union health ministry secretary, state chief secretary, and the Bhopal Memorial Hospital and Research Centre (BMHRC), to develop a comprehensive action plan within a week for digitising medical records of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy victims.
The court’s order, issued on January 6, was uploaded on Wednesday.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice SK Kait and Justice Vivek Jain issued these instructions while hearing a contempt petition filed by the Bhopal Gas Peedith Mahila Udyog Sanghathan, an organisation advocating for the rehabilitation of the survivors. Expressing concern over the delay, the court remarked, “It seems that the respondents are not serious about the work to be completed.”
The bench directed, “The Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, and Chief Secretary, Madhya Pradesh, along with the Director of BMHRC, shall convene a meeting within one week to finalise the action plan, ensuring the issue is addressed within a fixed timeline.” Additionally, the court instructed the respondents to provide daily progress updates from the first meeting and ensure timely disbursement of necessary funds.
In compliance with an earlier directive issued on December 9, 2024, the respondents submitted an affidavit, acknowledging the challenges in digitising old medical records. The affidavit noted, “The medical records prior to 2014 are very old, therefore, only 3,000 pages per day can be scanned.” At this pace, the task is estimated to take approximately 550 days, with precise timelines becoming clearer once the work begins.
Regarding the establishment of a cloud server under the e-hospital project, the affidavit highlighted that a proposal from the National Informatics Centre (NIC) has been received but awaits financial approval from the Finance Department. The necessary budget is expected to be allocated in the 2025-26 financial year. Once funds are secured, the scanned records will be integrated into the cloud server, with the entire process expected to take 12 months, according to the NIC proposal.
The Bhopal gas tragedy, considered one of the world’s worst industrial disasters, occurred on the night of December 2-3, 1984, when methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal. The catastrophic event claimed at least 5,479 lives and left thousands more suffering from severe injuries and chronic health problems.
Court’s recent directive underscores the urgency of digitising medical records to facilitate better healthcare management for the survivors, who continue to battle long-term health complications four decades after the disaster.
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