Intense pressure from local communities, civil society and elected representatives, and recommendation by Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh resulted in the decision to abandon the idea.
The GoM is now considering four possible options for disposing the waste. It could be co-incinerated in a cement kiln, or buried at the site of the Union Carbide factory, or disposed at the DRDO hazard facility in Nagpur, or shipped out to the EU or some other country that was willing to accept it.
Civil society groups have maintained that the waste can be shipped out and that there are some countries that are willing to accept it. Ramesh said that the Central Pollution Control Board will get in touch with these organisations to pursue this possibility. Ramesh said that the technical committee would will study these options and would submit a report in two months on the viability of the suggested options for waste disposal. Read the full report here.
Source: ET Bureau, Economic Times, New Delhi.
