By Admin 
Jabalpur High Court of Madhya Pradesh has given strict instructions to the state government regarding the disposal of poisonous ash of Union Carbide factory. The court said that 899 tonnes of toxic ash should be taken to a place where there are no human settlements, trees, plants or water sources. The court clearly said that the steps taken by the government so far are not sufficient.
This is the second time that the High Court has given orders to the government on this subject in the last two months. The court has asked the state government to submit a report on the alternative site and take the help of international experts in this work.
Container filled with poisonous ash may break in disaster
The High Court also warned in its order that if the containment structure holding this poisonous ash breaks during any natural disaster like earthquake or heavy rainfall, it could cause another major disaster.
State government claims- poisonous ash has been kept safe
In fact, it was informed in a petition that the amount of mercury in this ash was found to be much more than the prescribed limit. In response, the state government presented an animated video to the court to show that the arrangement for storing the ashes was ‘modern and safe’, but the court was not convinced by this claim.
The court commented that the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal was once considered safe, but the gas tragedy of December 1984 proved that even a small mistake could turn into a major disaster. Therefore, now any kind of caution cannot be called ‘excessive’.
368 tons of toxic waste was burnt for 55 days
It is noteworthy that 358 tonnes of poisonous waste was lying in the Union Carbide plant of Bhopal, which was sent to the Pithampur TSDF plant in January 2025 on the orders of the High Court. It was burnt there for 55 days, producing 899 tonnes of poisonous ash. Now the court has taken a strict stance on the safe disposal of this ash. The next hearing will be on 20 November 2025.
Input By : Sabir Khan