Addressing a press conference on Monday, Supreme Court Advocate Prashant Bhushan and former Rajya Sabha MP and senior journalist Kuldip Nayyar said that the Governments of India and Madhya Pradesh and Dow Chemical are “joint tort feasors” and are responsible for the condition of the Bhopal site and its surroundings. Through this proposed settlement, the Government of India is contemplating letting Dow off the hook, even while failing to discharge its own statutory duties of protecting the environment and holding the polluters liable.

Dow has argued that its wholly-owned subsidiary Union Carbide is a separate legal entity that handles its own liabilities, and that the Government of India should pursue Union Carbide and not Dow. “Dow’s argument is specious. Carbide has been an absconder since 1992. Dow knows very well that its subsidiary will not respond to summons from Indian courts,” said Nayyar.

“As a 100 per cent owner of Union Carbide after the merger, Dow is saddled with successor liability. Its attempts to use the corporate veil, separating Dow and Union Carbide, to evade liability is fraudulent,” added Bhushan.

Survivors of the 1984 Bhopal disaster, and victims of water contamination are currently camping in Jantar Mantar after an 800-km padyatra from Bhopal to Delhi. Besides their demand for an empowered commission to address rehabilitation issues, they also want the Government to pursue Union Carbide and Dow for their respective liabilities.