Bhopal Gas Relief Department Exposed as a ‘Milch Cow’: ₹272.75 Crore for Survivors Looted, Wasted or Left Unspent

Four organisations working among the survivors of the Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal released evidence today—obtained under the Right to Information Act—showing that the Department of Bhopal Gas Tragedy Relief & Rehabilitation, Government of Madhya Pradesh, has for years functioned as a “Milch Cow,” serving as a steady source of income for contractors and officials rather than providing medical relief or rehabilitation to gas victims and their families. In the last 41years the government’s apathy and apathy towards those exposed to poisons of Union Carbide is at its peak. In 2010, the Group of Ministers on Bhopal, Government of India, sanctioned ₹272.75 crore for the medical, social, economic and environmental rehabilitation of survivors, transferring the funds to the state government on a 75:25 basis. Today, more than ₹139 crore remains unspent, while much of what is recorded as expenditure has resulted in little to no benefit for those affected.

Although ₹33 crore was sanctioned to improve healthcare for gas victims and their children, major installations remain non-functional. Modular operation theatres constructed in 2021 in three gas relief hospitals have not conducted a single major surgery because of lack of surgeons and anaesthesiologists. Essential diagnostic equipment, including sonography and TMT machines, lies idle for want of trained operators. Central oxygen lines were installed in hospitals without ICUs, and canteens built to serve admitted patients were shut down as no staff was hired to run these canteens.. According to the latest report of the Supreme Court–appointed Monitoring Committee, 90 percent of specialist posts and more than half of all doctor posts remain vacant. “Hiring qualified specialists does not bring in commission money, which is why these crucial posts remain unfilled,” said Rashida Bee of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Stationery Karmchari Sangh.

Social rehabilitation funds were similarly squandered. In 2012, seven Yoga Centres were built at a cost of ₹3.63 crore to provide therapeutic care to survivors suffering from respiratory, hormonal and musculoskeletal disorders caused by toxic exposure. Not a single yoga therapist was ever appointed, and no programme has ever been conducted at these centres, many of which now function as wedding halls. Likewise, 5Crores were spent on Sulabh toilets and dustbins—activities irrelevant to the needs of survivors—while more than 500 widows of the disaster have been denied pensions for the last four years. “Money meant to support families devastated by the disaster has been plundered through meaningless construction,” said Balkrishan Namdev of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Nirashrit Pension Bhogi Sangharsh Morcha.

Perhaps the starkest example of administrative failure is the state of Widhwa Colony, built to house women widowed and children orphaned by the disaster. In 2014, ₹5 crore was sanctioned to construct a functional sewage system. A decade later, not a single drain works. During the monsoon, sewage floods into the homes of widows, as documented in photographs shared by the residents. “Even after spending ₹5 crore, the community still has no functional sewage system. This is the level of greed we are up against,” said Nasreen Bi of the Bhopal Gas Peedit Mahila Purush Sangharsh Morcha.

Economic rehabilitation funds reveal an equally disturbing pattern. Between 2011 and 2013, ₹18.13 crore was paid to 22 training agencies to run 133 vocational courses for survivors and their families. RTI documents and interviews with 380 people claimed as trainees expose widespread fraud: nearly a quarter of the beneficiary names were fake, more than half of the job-offer letters were forged, and only six percent of trainees received their stipends. The corruption was so extensive that approximately 94 percent of payments made to the agencies were fraudulent. The Department planned to spend the entire 100 corore on these meaningless training but were stopped due to revelation of corruption. “The Department of Gas Relief has systematically enriched contractors and officials while abandoning the constitutional and court-mandated rehabilitation of Bhopal survivors,” said Rachna Dhingra of the Bhopal Group for Information & Action, urging the Chief Minister to convene a meeting of the State Advisory Committee–Gas Rahat and initiate an immediate investigation into corruption and misutilisation of funds. She added that a transparent process must be established to ensure that the remaining unspent funds are used for meaningful rehabilitation in consultation with all stakeholders.

Documents/Attachments:

• Breakdown of 272 crores Nov 2025
• Annual report 2024-2025 Dept. of Chemicals and Petrochemicals (letter by BGTRR)
• Medical Rehabilitation Fund Allocation
• Letter from IGH about Model Operation Theatre
• Plan of action for funds 2015

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