Madhya Pradesh High Court has deferred the hearing on a petition challenging the state govt’s decision to incinerate Union Carbide's hazardous waste in Pithampur to February 18.

The MP High Court on December 3 set a four-week deadline to shift the toxic waste from the factory, observing that even 40 years after the gas disaster, the authorities were in a “state of inertia” that may cause another tragedy.

During the hearing on Monday, state's Advocate General Prashant Singh said that containers cannot hold the waste for too long and sought permission to unload them after taking the people of Pithampur into confidence and dispelling fear from their minds.

Madhya Pradesh government authorities shifted 337 tonnes of waste from the defunct Carbide factory to Pithampur after the High Court pulled up government for the 40-year delay in disposing of the waste.

A petition has been filed in the National Green Tribunal's Bhopal bench seeking an assurance from the Madhya Pradesh government that the disposal of Union Carbide waste won't harm people in nearby areas.

Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav states the govt will address public concerns over the Bhopal gas tragedy waste incineration in Pithampur, awaiting further court orders. Protests, including attempted self-immolation,

The Madhya Pradesh government has decided to seek some time from the Jabalpur High Court to dispose of the Bhopal gas tragedy’s toxic waste from the Union Carbide factory in Pithampur, State Chief Secretary Anurag Jain said on Saturday (January 4,