Montek backs Rs 982-cr PMO package for Bhopal victims

New Delhi, Jun 18 (PTI) The Indian Planning Commission on
Friday supported the PMO proposal for a special Rs 982-crore
package for the Bhopal victims.

"I have approved the proposal. This goes through certain
processes. At the end we are supportive (of it). These are all
preliminary steps. It is actually the GoM that will take the
decision," Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh
Ahluwalia told newsmen when asked for his views on the special
package for the Bhopal gas tragedy victims.
The special package would be approved by the Group of
Ministers (GoM) on Bhopal which met for the first time Friday.
The GoM is to suggest ways to tackle the plethora of
legal and financial tangles that have angered the country
since a Bhopal court gave its verdict last week.
The GoM was announced in the wake of the controversy
over the light punishment given to the seven accused,
including Keshub Mahindra who was the then chairman of the
Union Carbide when the tragedy took place, in the Bhopal gas
disaster by a local court and several questions being raised
over the exit of the then Union Carbide chief Warren Anderson.
The Prime Minister formed the GoM on Bhopal, with Union
ministers M Veerappa Moily (law), Ghulam Nabi Azad (health),
Kamal Nath (surface transport), MK Alagiri (chemicals), Kumari
Selja (tourism), S Jaipal Reddy (urban development),
Prithviraj Chavan (science & technology) and Jairam Ramesh
(environment) as members and home minister P Chidambaram as
the chairman.
After forming the GoM, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO)
has drafted a Rs 982-crore Bhopal rehabilitation plan and sent
to the Plan panel for its view. PTI KKS
RBT