A lot has been written and said about what happened on that fateful night when toxic gases escaped from the Union Carbide factory in Bhopal. Till then, nobody had given much thought to what an environment disaster was all about. The results of the catastrophe were difficult to even imagine. It was worse than what has been depicted in a few futuristic movies that are based on apocalypses and similar frightening phenomena. They were so many physically challenged men, women and children, who emerged as survivors of this terrible disaster. After a long legal battle, Structured Settlements were thought of and some moneys were distributed to these hapless individuals. The point in question here is this: did these Structured Settlements really help those who had lost their only means of livelihood and for no fault of theirs, suffered untold miseries caused by the leaching of toxic substances into the soil and water around them?
One reason why I would argue that these settlements meant nothing much is that they came at a time when they were unable to do anything good for these people. It is possible that if the company had made these payments, well within the expected timeframe, a lot could have been done to save not just these people, but also quite a few of their holdings as well. Since the toxins got absorbed into the soil, the fertility of the soil dropped to near zero. Apart from this, the drinking water also got contaminated. The Structured Settlements could do nothing to save the plight of these unfortunate people.
Instead of paying a structured settlement package to a person in the Bhopal gas tragedy, it would have been better for the company to ensure that the physically challenged got the required medical aid at the right time and at a reasonable cost. There is no point in providing a person with medical help after a point in time when the treatment becomes totally redundant. A person, they say, needs to be given food, only when he is hungry. He would be able to appreciate this gesture only when the pangs of hunger hold him in a vise-like grip. Though it has been a hard time for those who have been affected, it is hoped that similar situations are avoided in the future. Handling Structured Settlements equitably requires skill and humaneness.
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