Madhya Pradesh HC chides Centre over delayed union carbide toxic report

The Jabalpur bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court has asked the Centre to explain the inordinate delay in submitting test reports of the Union Carbide (UC) toxic waste. The Central government was to submit the report in January this year but failed to do so.

The bench had, in its December 19, 2011, hearing of the case, ordered the Union government to have the toxic waste samples incinerated and the fumes and residues tested for toxicity at a selected laboratory and submit the report in three weeks. Before this, on September 22, 2011, the bench had given a similar order to the Centre following which the government filed an interim application asking Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) to incinerate 2.5 tonnes of waste at the DRDO facility near Nagpur as a trial run. However, after the MPCB took an objection, the bench, at the December 19 hearing, had asked government to use the best possible laboratory facility in the country instead of the DRDO for the analysis. However, a month after the January 9 deadline, the report has not reached the bench.