Union Carbide to Withhold Bhopal Funds
Union Carbide Corp. announced today that it will withhold $192 million in interim relief to victims of the Bhopal gas leak while it appeals the order to the Supreme Court of India.
The Indian State High Court on April 4 ordered Carbide to pay the interim compensation.
“The needs of the victims will be fully addressed only in the context of a final resolution of all issues,” Carbide said in a statement.
The company accused the Indian government of delaying final resolution of lawsuits stemming from the December, 1984, gas leak at a Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, by first trying to sue Carbide in U.S. courts and then “by subsequently circumventing existing laws in India.”
The Indian government has said at least 2,660 people were killed and 40,000 injured in the world’s worst industrial disaster at the plant. Carbide contends the leak was the result of sabotage.
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