NEW DELHI, July 19: India's Supreme Court ordered the government on Monday to distribute millions of dollars in compensation still due to the victims of the Bhopal gas tragedy which had been delayed due to legal wrangles, lawyers said.
In Dec 1984, tons of a toxic gas leaked from a pesticide plant owned by Union Carbide in Bhopal, killing 3,800 people almost immediately. Thousands more were injured. Environmental group Green peace says that, since then, over 20,000 people have died from exposure-related illnesses, and of the approximately 520,000 people exposed to the poisonous gas, some 120,000 people remain chronically ill.
Union Carbide, now owned by Dow Chemical Co, paid 470 million dollars in compensation to residents in 1989, but only some of that amount has been distributed, say lawyers for the victims.
India's top court has ordered the government to pay the remaining 15.03 billion rupees (325.5 million dollars) due to victims of the tragedy, the lawyers said. With the value of the Indian rupee having fallen sharply against the dollar in the last 15 years, the rupee value of the dollar compensation has risen significantly.
The gas victims had filed a plea in March 2002 with India's top court for the release of the rest of the compensation that was deposited with India's central bank. "It is a positive development as the victims' voices have been heard. It is a balm to the wounds," Srinivasan Muralidhar, a Supreme Court lawyer for 36 gas victims, told Reuters after the verdict.
The payment of the full compensation was delayed because of bureaucratic wrangling over the categorisation of victims. The Indian government continues to pursue criminal charges against former Union Carbide chairman Warren Anderson, who is now retired in New York state. The victims continue to seek monetary damages from Dow Chemical.
A spokeswoman for Dow Chemical said earlier this year it had no involvement in the Bhopal tragedy and considered the original settlement between Union Carbide and victims to be final.
An Indian investigation found that the deadly methyl isocyanate gas leaked into the air while workers of the company were cleaning a tank. Many victims continue to suffer shortness of breath and a burning sensation in their chest and throats. -Reuters