NEW DELHI: The Group of Ministers (GOM) on Bhopal decided on Saturday to recommend that the Centre file afresh for extradition of the former Union Carbide chairman, Warren Anderson.
However, a point that emerged during the GoM's deliberations may limit the legal options available to the government, sources told The Hindu. There is apparently some ambiguity over who owns the UCIL plant in Bhopal today, since the land on which its shell stands has reverted to the Madhya Pradesh government. Clarity on this point is crucial, sources said, in establishing the liability of Dow Chemicals, which bought out Union Carbide.
Meanwhile, government sources told The Hindu that the GoM was of the view that even though previous attempts to extradite Mr. Anderson had failed, advantage should be taken of the new evidence that had been recorded in the recently delivered Bhopal trial court judgment, as well as in the testimonies of witnesses who had said Union Carbide's parent company in the U.S. had prior knowledge of both the faulty design as well as the shortcomings in the maintenance and operations of the Bhopal plant that had led to the December 3, 1984 gas leak. Foreign Secretary Nirupama Rao, who was present at the meeting, read out a factual note explaining the background of the previous attempts to extradite Mr. Anderson. In response to a question put to her at the GoM whether there was any truth in the former Foreign Secretary, M.K. Rasgotra's statement that the decision to give safe passage to Mr. Anderson was taken by the then Union Home Minister, P.V. Narasimha Rao, she said there was nothing on the records which could either “corroborate or contradict” Mr. Rasgotra's claim, sources added.
At its morning session, the GoM focussed on the legal options available to the government. “We discussed all pending legal issues and legal options available to the government after the judgement of the trial court,” Union Home Minister P. Chidambaram, who heads to the reconstituted GoM, told journalists.
Apart from the discussion on extradition, the GoM decided to recommend that a curative petition be filed in the Supreme Court to try and reverse its 1996 judgment that had extinguished criminal liability against the accused , so that the punishment could be enhanced; the case against Dow Chemicals pending in the Jabalpur High Court be pursued vigorously; and the government appeal against the trial court judgment, seeking a greater degree of punishment for those convicted.
At the end of the second session, sources said, the GoM decided to recommend strengthening the existing medical facilities: currently, there are seven dedicated hospitals for the victims (two super speciality, two speciality and three general hospitals), nine day-care units and three Ayurvedic, three homoeopathic and three Unani dispensaries operating in the affected areas. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), which has collated reports on the impact of the gas leak on pregnant women and children and established a population-based cancer registry in Bhopal, would also be asked to invite more proposals for further research among the affected population.
The Ministers will meet again on Sunday to look at the environmental issues, especially what needs to be done for the remediation of the plant and to ensure safe supply of drinking water. On Monday, the GoM will take a comprehensive look before making its final recommendations to the Cabinet.
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