BENGALURU: Unable to manage operations owing to non-payment of dues by the State Government for over a year, the 26 biomedical waste treatment units in the state, which handle Covid-related waste, have threatened to stop operations from June 1.The Common Biomedical Waste Treatment and Disposal Facility Operators Association president D K Nagaraj, who also runs one such unit in Hassan, told The New Indian Express that no payment had been made to the operators since March 2020.
“The only reason we paid our employees and bore all expenses from our own pockets is to prevent an environmental and health disaster in the state. Covid waste is dangerous and sensitive and extra precautions need to be taken by the staff while handling and incinerating them. We send our vehicles to both government and private hospitals to collect waste daily. If left uncollected, infection could spread and affect lives,” Nagaraj said.
Barring districts like Chamarajanagar, Kodagu, Mandya, Hassan and Tumukuru, every district in Karnataka has a common disposal plant in place operated by private players. “While private hospitals and those run by the BBMP have been making payments for Covid waste clearance, no payment has been made to us by the Covid hospitals run by the government and their Covid Care Centres,” he said.
The units totally handle 25,000 kg of waste each day. Despite repeated requests by the operators, the government is yet to release any payment. “By our calculations, we must be totally paid around Rs 10 crore,” he said. Deputy Commissioners in some districts have released small sums to keep the units going,
Nagaraj added.The units had initially planned stop operations from May 10, but have given the government three more weeks time to redress the issue.
An official source familiar with the developments said the inability of the government to finalise the rates was the reason for the delay in payments. Regional Officer, Health Department, Rajkumar, did not respond to calls made by The New Indian Express.Health Minister Dr K Sudhakar could not be reached for comment.