Contrasting Government responses between US and Indian Governments
The BP oil spill of 20 April 2010 has had devastating effects to the environment as well as humans and wildlife in the Gulf region. The oil spill was caused by an explosion at an offshore drilling rig in the Gulf of Mexico. The leak is releasing some 5,000 barrels of oil per day, and efforts to manage the spill with controlled burning, dispersal and plugging the leak have been unsuccessful.
President Obama in his remarks to the Nation on the BP Oil Spill on 15 June said :’
In April 20th, an explosion ripped through BP Deepwater Horizon drilling rig, about 40 miles off the coast of Louisiana. Eleven workers lost their lives. Seventeen others were injured. But make no mistake: We will fight this spill with everything we’ve got for as long as it takes. We will make BP pay for the damage their company has caused. And we will do whatever’s necessary to help the Gulf Coast and its people recover from this tragedy. “
On 16 June it was announced that BP will pay US$ 20 billion (£13.5bn) into a special clean-up fund for the Gulf of Mexico oil disaster after company executives met Barack Obama at the White House. Following discussions with the president, the oil giant reached agreement to pay the $20 billion sum into a trust to be overseen by US officials.
The Bhopal Gas Tragedy
Around midnight on December 2–3, 1984, there was a leak of methyl isocyanate (MIC) gas and other toxins from the plant, resulting in the exposure of over 500,000 people. Estimates vary on the death toll. The official immediate death toll was 2,259 and the government of Madhya Pradesh has confirmed a total of 3,787 deaths related to the gas release. Other government agencies estimate 15,000 deaths
The Government of India passed the Bhopal Gas Leak Disaster Act that gave the government rights to represent all victims in or outside India. In 1999, a settlement was reached under which UCC agreed to pay US$470 million in a full and final settlement of its civil and criminal liability.
The final compensation (including interim relief) for personal injury was for the majority Rs 25,000 (US$ 830). For death claim, the average sum paid out was Rs 62,000. (US$ 2000). A clear travesty of natural justice!
In the first few years after the tragedy, tremendous pressure was put up by the American corporate lobby and the government on India to save the US-based Union Carbide, the parent company, from civil and criminal liability.
As a result, at every little step, the law could not provide justice to the over 15,000 who died due to the gas leak. More than five lakh victims who suffered chronic diseases are struggling and pleading for help, even now.
The June 7 judgment of a local court in Bhopal, sentencing the convicted officials of the Indian arm of Union Carbide to a mere two-year sentence, has made the entire nation feel small and impotent before the might of the multinational corporations, the sluggish Indian justice system and its spineless political establishment.
The United States on 8 Jun 2010 reacted cautiously to the judgment in the Bhopal gas tragedy Addressing a press briefing at Washington on the verdict, US Assistant Secretary of State Robert Blake said, "I don't expect this verdict to reopen any new inquiries or anything like that. On the contrary, we hope that this is going to help to bring closure to the victims and their families."
The US remained non-committal about the extradition of Warren Anderson, erstwhile chief executive of Union Carbide, and about seeking compensation for the victims of the massive disaster from Dow Chemical, which acquired Union Carbide several years ago.
21 Jun 2010 :
The reconstituted Group of Ministers (GoM) on the 1984 Bhopal Gas Tragedy is today understood to have recommended an enhanced compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the next of kin of each of those killed in the world's worst ever industrial disaster.
The GoM, which finalised its report at a meeting this morning before submitting it to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, is learnt to have recommended a Rs 1500 crore package in this regard, which also provides for Rs 5 lakh for those permanently disabled or suffering from critical ailments and Rs 3 lakh for those who have been partially debilitated.
The enhanced compensation will be paid after deducting the amounts already given to the victims earlier, official sources said.