CHENNAI: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has sought a status report on biomedical waste management and disposal in Tamil Nadu. The State government as well as the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), have been directed to file a status report regarding the number of healthcare centres, both under the government as well as under the private sector, that are complying with Biomedical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2016, and “if any of the hospitals / healthcare centres have not complied with the same, what is the action taken by the authorities against those hospitals/healthcare centres,” the green bench, comprising Justice K Ramakrishnan and expert member Nagin Nanda, said in the order.
The bench also asked, “How many applications are pending for authorization, how many disposed of, how many healthcare centres are functioning without any consent to operate or authorization as required under the rules.”
The directions were given in a case filed by Chennai-based social activist Jawaharlal Shanmugham way back in 2015. The report has to be submitted to the tribunal within three weeks. The tribunal has also directed the authorities to submit details about the disposal of the liquid biomedical waste and whether they have proper treatment plants for treating those biomedical liquids which are discharged from the healthcare centres.
During a recent hearing held via video-conferencing, the petitioner had alleged that there was non-compliance of biomedical waste management rules, both, by government and private hospitals. “Most of the Government as well as private institutions do not have consent to operate and also authorisation to deal with the hazardous substance as per the rules and no action has been taken by the authorities against the violators,” Shanmugam alleged.
In 2016, Express has exposed a major fraud in disposal of biomedical waste in Chennai. A CB-CID probe was ordered against a leading private hospital, which was accused of selling discarded biomedical waste to an unauthorised recycler. NGT, then, had ordered TNPCB to inspect city hospitals and the data submitted, revealed that an additional 21 city hospitals had alleged pilferaged biomedical waste and faced criminal prosecution.