Chidambaram heads ministers' panel on Bhopal gas tragedy

New Delhi (IANS)- Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has named Home Minister P. Chidambaram as head of the reconstituted high-level ministerial panel tasked with suggesting remedial measures to help victims of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, the world's worst industrial disaster.

The opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), however, termed the prime minister's effort as an "eyewash".

"Yes, the empowered group of ministers has been reconstituted as on May 26. It had been originally set up in 2008," a senior official in the Prime Minister's Office told IANS Wednesday, adding that Home Minister P. Chidambaram will be heading the high-powered panel.

The other members of the group are Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad, Law Minister Veerappa Moily, Urban Development Minister S. Jaipal Reddy, Road Transport Minister Kamal Nath, Housing Minister Kumari Selja and Fertiliser Minister M.K. Azhagiri.

Minister of State for Environment Jairam Ramesh and Minister of State for Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan are also its members, while the minister for Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department in the Madhya Pradesh government is a permanent invitee.

"The terms of reference of the group are to examine all issues relating to the Bhopal gas tragedy. The group will make appropriate recommendations on remedial measures that can be taken for rehabilitation of victims and their families," the official added.

The BJP slammed the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government over the reconstituted Group of Ministers, calling it an "eyewash".

"The Group of Ministers for Bhopal gas tragedy is an eyewash. The government has woken up only due to the pressure from people and will go back to sleep again," BJP spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain told reporters here.

The BJP also demanded that the civil nuclear liability bill should be withdrawn in the wake of the Bhopal gas tragedy verdict that handed out a meagre penalty to the accused, 25 years after the accident.

The bill fixes the maximum amount of liability in case of a nuclear accident at Rs.500 crore, to be paid by the operator of the nuclear plant. The legislation makes the operator exclusively liable in case of an accident, but there is no mention of the suppliers' liability.

The Congress, meanwhile, said the government should make every effort to extradite Warren Anderson, who was the CEO of Union Carbide Corp when the Bhopal gas tragedy took place.

"The Congress is of the firm opinion that the extradition process should be completed and he (Anderson) should be brought back. We hope the government will take it to its logical conclusion," Congress spokesperson Jayanthi Natarajan said.

A senior official of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said the government would decide on renewing a request to the US for extraditing Anderson, after getting additional evidence from investigating agencies on the Bhopal gas tragedy.

"The MEA has been pressing investigating agencies for additional evidence," the official said.

"There is no conflict between the MEA and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). The government will take a collective view on it and proceed accordingly after consulting agencies," he said.

Tonnes of lethal gas had leaked from the Union Carbide's pesticide plant in Bhopal on the night of Dec 2-3 in 1984, killing about 3,500 instantly and thousands later.

A court in Bhopal had Monday held the Union Carbide India and seven of its officials guilty of criminal negligence and had sentenced the officials to two years' imprisonment. The seven were later released on bail.