NEW DELHI: Toxic remains of the

will stay put for now, as the group of ministers (GoM) headed by home minister P Chidambaram on Friday refused to take a view on its treatment and disposal yet.

The Madhya Pradesh government has been reluctant to deal with it and an attempt to get the residue treated in Nagpur backfired after the authorities found that the DRDO waste treatment plant there was operating without proper consent.

Sources said the Maharashtra government was unwilling to permit transport of the toxic waste and its treatment within its territory. The GoM decided to leave the matter to the oversight committee — formed earlier and jointly headed by the environment minister and MP minister

— to come back to the group with a solution.

While the GoM did not revise the claim criteria or add to the number of victims as specified in its curative petition in Supreme Court, it decided to recommend release of Rs 134 crore as compensation among 12,000 affected who have been suffering from

and kidney ailments. The need to do so was felt as the number of people ailing was found to be higher than earlier estimated.

Asked for his reaction to the GoM decision, Gaur said he was only “half-satisfied” as the group had rejected the proposal to give Rs 10 lakh each as compensation to 10,046 people affected by the gas tragedy.

Union health minister

said the Bhopal Memorial Hospital, which was given to

Energy Commission to run, would be taken over by his department as the Union Cabinet took a decision to this effect about a week ago.