PATNA: The Bihar State Pollution Control Board has said over 5,000 private health care facilities in the state are not complying with the Centre's Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016.
The state's pollution watchdog said a total of 5,226 private health care facilities are flouting norms and disposing of their hazardous medical waste into general waste.
If bio-medical waste is not properly handled it may be hazardous and therefore appropriate action will be initiated against these defaulting health care facilities, Neeraj Kumar Singh, Bihar minister for environment, forest, and climate change, told PTI on Thursday.
Preserving the environment and protecting the health of every individual is the need of the hour and those who violate the environment protection rules in the state will certainly be punished, the minister said.
The Bihar State Pollution Control Board (BSPCB) functions under the environment, forest, and climate change department of the state government.
The BMWM Rules 2016 mention that the District Level Monitoring Committee constituted under sub-rule (4) shall submit its report once in six months to the State Advisory Committee and a copy thereof shall also be forwarded to State Pollution Control Board or Pollution Control Committee concerned for taking necessary action.
It was found that administrative heads of 15 districts in the state are showing less interest in the effective implementation of bio-medical waste management rules in their respective areas as no meetings were held ever since the BMWM rules came into existence in 2016.
The latest data compiled by the BSPCB identified the 15 districts as Aurangabad, Buxar, East Champaran, Darbhanga, Gaya, Jamui, Katihar, Kishanganj, Madhepura, Muzaffarpur, Nalanda, Nawada, Purnea, Rohtas and Sheohar.
The BSPCB on Thursday sent letters to administrative heads of all 38 districts asking them to hold meetings of their respective district level monitoring and implementation committee' on regular basis and send reports to the state pollution board.
Only one meeting of the monitoring and implementation committee took place in eight districts in the last six years, the BSPCB said.
The eight districts have been identified as Araria, Arwal, Bhojpur, Gopalganj, Kaimur, Lakhisarai, Patna, and Saharsa.
The minister said, As far as districts, where no meetings of monitoring and implementation committee have taken place in the last six years, are concerned, it is also a matter of concern. I will call a review meeting of administrative heads of all 38 districts in this regard next month.
Iterating that improper treatment of biomedical waste is dangerous for health, sanitation, and lives of people, S. Chandrasekar, Member Secretary, BSPCB, told PTI, The non-compliance of the provisions of Biomedical Waste Management Rules by the health care facilities is a serious offence.
The BSPCB has initiated the process of sending notices or proposed closure directions to 395 private health care facilities in Muzaffarpur district as they are not complying with the BMWM Rules, 2016, despite repeated notices, Chandrasekar said.
Similar notices are also being sent to defaulting health care facilities in Bhagalpur and Gaya, he said.
Samastipur tops the list of districts having defaulting private health care facilities (HCFs), according to BSPCB data.
With 459 defaulting private HCFs, as much as 1890 kg of bio-medical waste is generated every day in Samastipur district, the BSPCB data pointed out.
The other districts where defaulting private HCFs are operating include Vaishali (402), West Champaran (389), Patna (305), Siwan (286), East Champaran (270), and Darbhanga (213, the BSPCB said.