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The Madhya Pradesh High Court on Tuesday granted approval for the state government to conduct a trial run for the disposal of 40-year-old chemical waste originating from the defunct Union Carbide factory in Bhopal.
The trial incineration is set to take place in the Pithampur area of Dhar district.
According to Advocate General Prashant Singh, the incineration process will proceed in three phases starting from February 27.
The state government submitted a compliance report on Tuesday in response to the court’s January directive, detailing the measures taken to raise public awareness regarding the waste disposal process.
Local residents of Pithampur have strongly opposed the disposal of this hazardous waste in their vicinity. The waste is linked to the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy, which resulted in the deaths of more than 5,000 people. To address these concerns, the government assured the court that an awareness campaign would precede the trial incineration.
The trial run will involve the disposal of 10 tons of waste in each phase. The first phase will proceed at a rate of 135 kilograms per hour, increasing to 180 kilograms per hour in the 2nd phase and 270 kilograms per hour in the 3rd , Singh stated.
As per the High Court’s directives, the first trial run is scheduled for February 27, the second for March 4, while the third date remains undetermined.
The results of these trial runs will be submitted to the Central Pollution Control Board, which will subsequently determine the optimal ‘feed rate’ for the disposal of the remaining waste.
A total of 337 tons of hazardous waste from the Union Carbide factory has already been transported to the Pithampur disposal facility. The government will submit a compliance report to the court on March 27.
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