Bhopal Gas Tragedy: How Rs 272.75 Crore Relief Fund Was Wasted While Victims Continue to Suffer

Four decades after the Union Carbide disaster, documents accessed by NDTV expose a massive collapse of Madhya Pradesh's Bhopal Gas Relief and Rehabilitation programme, revealing how a Rs 272.75 crore fund meant for medical, social, economic and environmental rehabilitation of gas victims was looted, wasted or simply never used.

The medical utilization records reveal numerous projects categorized as "work not started" or "incomplete".

Four survivors' organizations have labeled the department a "milch cow" that benefits contractors and officials, while gas victims continue to struggle with chronic illnesses, disability, contaminated water sources and deteriorating public healthcare facilities.

Government documentation spanning 2010-2025, obtained from various departments, confirms a consistent pattern of failed initiatives, abandoned infrastructure and alarming under-utilization of funds despite the state's claims of "successful implementation".

According to the government's 2024-25 report, only Rs 132.34 crore of the sanctioned Rs 272.75 crore has been utilized, leaving Rs 139 crore unused. Meanwhile, affected families continue to live without adequate medical care, pensions or functioning sanitation systems.

Modular operation theaters were constructed in at least three major gas relief hospitals - Indira Gandhi Hospital, Shakir Ali Khan Hospital, and Kamla Nehru Hospital - but have not conducted a single major surgery due to the absence of qualified specialists. Medical utilization records indicate multiple projects remain unstarted or incomplete.

An internal communication from Indira Gandhi Hospital confirms the operation theater has remained non-operational for years, despite multiple notifications to the engineering department.

Advanced medical equipment including MRI, CT scanners, color Doppler machines, TMT devices, ventilators, laminar air flow units and digital X-ray systems are mostly installed and purchased but rarely utilized due to the lack of trained technicians and physicians.

Central oxygen supply systems were installed in facilities such as Shakir Ali Khan Hospital, JN Hospital and the Pulmonary Centre, none of which maintain intensive care units, rendering these installations effectively useless.

The Supreme Court Monitoring Committee and gas victims' organizations verify that 90% of specialist positions and 40-50% of doctor positions remain unfilled, which explains why new equipment sits unused.

Seven yoga centers constructed in 2011-12 have never hosted a single yoga session. No yoga therapists were recruited; these facilities now function as wedding venues or remain abandoned.

Despite a Rs 5 crore allocation for sewage infrastructure in Karondh Widows' Colony, the system remains completely non-functional a decade after approval.

Although Rs 30 crore was allocated, pension payments to thousands of widows were discontinued after five years; hundreds still await their entitled benefits. The annual report acknowledges ongoing delays in pension disbursement.

Between 2011 and 2013, Rs 18.13 crore was disbursed to 22 agencies for training 12,155 survivors. However, RTI investigations revealed 25% of listed names were fabricated, over half of employment offer letters were forged, and merely 6% of trainees received stipends.

The state claims the entire Rs 50 crore has been spent on providing piped water infrastructure. However, survivors report that 80% of gas-affected communities still receive contaminated water mixed with sewage, as no sewage treatment facilities were developed.

Leaders of four gas survivors' organizations - Rashida Bee, Balkrishna Namdeo, Rachna Dhingra and Nasreen Bi - have called for the Chief Minister to convene a meeting of the State Advisory Committee and launch a comprehensive investigation into fund misappropriation, non-functioning healthcare facilities, fraudulent training initiatives and extensive delays in social rehabilitation projects. They maintain that the department has systematically enriched contractors and officials while gas victims continued to suffer without proper assistance.

The documentation reveals a disturbing reality: Bhopal's survivors were promised rehabilitation but instead received corruption, neglect and empty structures.