Bhopal: Hours before nine ministers come together to discuss the government's agenda for Bhopal, the Planning Commission has sanctioned 982 crores  for the Madhya Pradesh government.

The money will reportedly be assigned to Health and Environment issues in the state.

The fund will have to be approved by the Group of Ministers (GoM) who meet for the first time today.Their agenda: to suggest how to tackle the plethora of legal and financial tangles that have angered the country since a  Bhopal court gave its verdict last week.

For the 1984 gas tragedy caused by the Union Carbide Plant in Bhopal, the court sentenced seven Indian Carbide executives to two years in prison; they were granted bail immediately.   The sting of the featherweight punishment was compounded by the glaring omission of Warren Anderson from the trial. Anderson was the American CEO of Union Carbide. 

Although he was charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder, he has ignored many court summons.

Four days after the gas leak, Anderson visited Bhopal briefly.  He was arrested, then released immediately, and flown out of Bhopal on the plane of the Chief Minister, Arjun Singh. Anderson's state-supported getaway has led to public outrage as India relooks at the Bhopal tragedy and the malnourished attempts to win justice for its victims.

Tags: Bhopal activists letter to GoM, bhopal gas tragedy victims, bhopalverdict, GoM meet, gom onn bhopal

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