Ahluwalia confirms Tata offer to contain Bhopal gas leak damage

New Delhi, June 12 (ANI): Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia has confirmed that chairman of Tata Group had offered to organise a remediation to contain the damage caused by the Bhopal gas leak.

"Ratan Tata had written to.. he offered if government wants, Indian industry will organize a remediation. Remediation means to control the damage caused by the gas leak. There was no discussion about accident or liability. He wrote that letter to many people including me and I have sent that letter to ministry," Ahluwalia told reporters here on Friday.

Earlier, the Congress party has denied any involvement of the Central Government in allowing former Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson leaving the country four days after the Bhopal Gas Tragedy.

The Bhopal Gas Tragedy was an industrial catastrophe that occurred on the night of December 3, 1984 at the Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL) pesticide plant in Bhopal.

Congress spokesperson Jayanti Natrajan said that there is no question of the Rajiv Gandhi government being implicated in the matter, adding that the newly formed Empowered Group of Ministers will examine afresh the Bhopal Gas Leak case.

On Monday, a District Magistrate's Court in Bhopal had convicted all eight accused on grounds of negligence under Section 304 (a) for the tragedy.

The court also granted bail to seven of the eight accused and released them on submission of a bond and a surety of Rs 25,000 each.

The eight accused are Keshub Mahendra, Vijay Gokhle, Kishore Kamdar, J Mukund, S P Choudhary, K V Shetty and S I Qureshi and R B Roy Choudhary.

Out of the accused R B Roy Choudhary, then former Assistant Works Manager Union Carbide India Ltd (UCIL), Mumbai, died during the trial.

Anderson, the chairman of Union Carbide Worldwide, has been designated an absconder. (ANI)