The Bhopal gas tragedy is a history. However the same has appeared on the surface as the dangerous plant remains and the chemicals deposits in those premises are still haunting the Bhopal. Union Carbide is no more but the waste is yet not managed. The people who suffered due to the gas leak are yet to be paid and the legal fights are still on.

This has prompted many of environmental experts to ponder over the issues associated with management of 'special wastes'. The things are not limited to the Bhopal gas case. Last month several hospitals in the Marathawada were fined heavily for not having an arrangement for treating bio-waste.

The worst is some of the medical practioners went on saying on camera that they were not served a legal notice. We wonder as to why there is a need to serve a notice on such defaulters when it is a bare minimum requirement in such specialty business. Another case comes from Goa where an iron ore carrier ship is stuck in the shallow waters of the sea and polluting the sea. The owner has got a bad track record of not pulling in such misguided ships with two more ships stuck near Kochi port for years.

Looking at the apathy to the degradation caused to the environment one will turn hawkish as to what will be the state of affairs few years down the line. There is not only a need of effective statutes but also there is a need to empower the authorities and ensure an efficient implementation of the law.

The pollution control boards are functioning at the center and in almost in each state but the amenities and the man power allocated to these boards do not offer any great leg space for the boards. At the same time there is enough political interference in the working of such bodies. The recent case of Shivraj Patil's son's distillery is a case in point. These factors make it a must for an autonomous body to work on the issues and work on the principles such as 'polluters pay'. At the same time there is a need to encourage the awareness; access and trading in carbon credits which will work as an encouragement for those who intend protect the environment.