The Union Cabinet has given go ahead to the report prepared by the group of ministers (GoM) that took up the responsibility to compensate the victims of the Bhopal gas disaster.
The report recommended an increased compensation to the victims, which would cost the exchequer over Rs 1,500 crore-Rs 10 lakh as compensation for every person who died and Rs 5 lakh for those permanently disabled by the gas disaster at the Union Carbide plant in 1984. However, any compensation already paid will be deducted, and no new claims will be considered. The official record pegs the toll at 15,000 so far. The GoM has recommended filing of a curative petition in the Supreme Court against dilution of charges against the accused. It also recommended seeking legal opinion on liability of Dow Chemicals and Rs 300 crore for cleaning up of the site and pursuing the then Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson?s extradition. The GoM was set up earlier this month after a Bhopal court delivered a verdict that was more shocking than the event itself: two years in prison for seven Carbide executives.