Cases / Waste management · India · 2025
Indian government paid Rs 126 crore to incinerate Union Carbide Bhopal waste
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
The Indian government paid Ramky Group Rs 126 crore to incinerate 336 tonnes of toxic waste from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, according to The Hitavada. The report names no payment by Dow or Union Carbide.
What?
The Indian government paid Ramky Group Rs 126 crore to incinerate 336 tonnes of toxic waste from the Union Carbide Bhopal plant. The Hitavada
Where?
Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India (origin of the waste). The Hitavada
When?
Payment reported in January 2025; incineration reported completed in July 2025. The Hitavada
Who?
Gained
- Ramky Group — Rs 126 crore government payment for incinerating the waste The Hitavada
Lost
- Government of India (state budget) — Rs 126 crore spent from the state budget The Hitavada
Harmed
None on recordWhy?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
The government paid for the waste to be incinerated at a Ramky facility; the article gives a price of about Rs 3.75 million per tonne. The Hitavada
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
The Hitavada reported on 4 January 2025 that the Indian government paid Ramky Group Rs 126 crore to destroy 336 tonnes of toxic waste from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal.
The article contains no information that Dow or Union Carbide paid for the work.
The Hitavada reported in July 2025 that the waste had been completely incinerated, and said the 1989 settlement of 470 million dollars did not cover groundwater.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: Ramky Group (Re Sustainability) is controlled by KKR, which bought 60 percent in 2018 for about 510 to 530 million dollars.
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: Re Sustainability was in a sale process in July 2026 at a value of about 1.6 billion dollars.
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: Union Carbide has belonged to Dow since 2001.
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: the waste was burned at Pithampur, where local protests were reported (Tribune/PTI, July 2025).
- None on record Not known: how much of the Rs 126 crore reached Re Sustainability, and whether Dow made any contribution.
- None on record Not known: current cost-sharing for the West Lake cleanup, and whether it was transferred to FUSRAP.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers
Press and investigations
- Why Govt paid Rs 126 crore to Ramky Group for destroying 336 tones of toxic wasteThe Hitavada · 2025-01-04
- Finally, toxic waste from Bhopal plant completely incineratedThe Hitavada · 2025-07-01
Connected cases
Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
- Supreme Court dismisses Centre's bid for more Bhopal compensation from Union Carbide India · 1989–2025
- Ramky Group (Company) — here: Paid to incinerate the waste; there: Contractor paid to destroy the waste
- Government of India (Government) — here: Paid for the incineration from the state budget; there: Paid the incineration cost; petitioner for more compensation
- Union Carbide (Company) — here: Origin of the waste (Bhopal plant); there: Company whose 1989 settlement is the subject; defendant in the curative petition
- India's top court refuses more Bhopal compensation from Union Carbide successors India · 1989–2025
- Government of India (Government) — here: Paid for the incineration from the state budget; there: filed the curative petition; paid for the waste incineration
- Union Carbide (Company) — here: Origin of the waste (Bhopal plant); there: company that paid the 1989 settlement; subject of the 2023 petition
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- Government of India (Government) — here: Paid for the incineration from the state budget; there: fertiliser subsidy payer
- India approved clearing over 8,500 hectares of forest despite a Supreme Court order India · 2025
- Government of India (Government) — here: Paid for the incineration from the state budget; there: Gave the nod to clear over 8,500 hectares
- India PMFBY crop insurance India · 2016
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- India's 1975–77 Emergency sterilisation drive drew a $66 million World Bank loan India · 1975–1977
- Government of India (Government) — here: Paid for the incineration from the state budget; there: Ran the sterilisation campaign
- India's scrap tyre imports reach 1.398 million tonnes in FY2024 India · 2021–2024
- Government of India (Government) — here: Paid for the incineration from the state budget; there: Source of the import data cited in the report
- Indus Waters Treaty suspension India / Pakistan · 2025
- Government of India (Government) — here: Paid for the incineration from the state budget; there: Suspended the treaty
- Kerala endosulfan compensation delayed as producer's Shroff family sells stake India · 2011–2026
- Government of India (Government) — here: Paid for the incineration from the state budget; there: Objected to listing endosulfan under the Stockholm Convention
- Union Carbide asbestos insurance case United States · 2012
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- Government of India (Government) — here: Paid for the incineration from the state budget; there: Host government for the Sardar Sarovar dam