THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Amid the escalating row between the governments of Tamil Nadu and Kerala over the illegal dumping of medical waste in Tirunelveli district, the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (PCB) has initiated legal action against the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) for the violation.
Following an intervention from the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the PCB has already issued a show cause notice to RCC over allegations of illegal medical waste dumping which has sparked widespread outrage among local residents and the Tamil Nadu government.
PCB Chairperson Sreekala S told TNIE that legal action will be taken against RCC and other violators under sections of the Environment Protection Act (EPC). A team from PCB visited RCC recently.
“Our officers are on the field and the penalty will be calculated after getting reports from the officials involved in the inspection. RCC is refuting the allegations but, being a medical waste generator, they have the responsibility to ensure 100% segregation before handing it over to the agency. Also, it’s the responsibility of the generator to ensure that the waste collected is handled scientifically every day,” she said.
RCC Director Dr Rekha A Nair termed the allegations baseless and said RCC has a foolproof waste management system. RCC is being framed and dragged unnecessarily into the issue because of vested interests on the part of the media, she said.
“We hand over medical waste generated at RCC to IMAGE, Palakkad. Other dry waste and non-biodegradable waste are being handed over to an accredited agency empanelled by the government. As per the contract with that agency, they are legally responsible for the waste collected and transported from RCC. We haven’t caused any violation and the officials from Tamil Nadu and other departments who visited our hospital are convinced about our system,” Dr Rekha said.
Following the NGT order, the state government has removed 29 loads of dumped waste from various places in Tirunelveli district over the past two days. On Sunday, around 18 loads of waste, amounting to around 200 tonnes, were retrieved from Tamil Nadu. And on Monday, 11 loads of waste were brought back to the state ahead of the next hearing scheduled on Tuesday.
G K Suresh Kumar, the managing director of Clean Kerala Company, the agency entrusted by the state government for the retrieval of waste from Tamil Nadu, said the waste will be segregated and the rejects bailed and transported to cement factories, as per rules.
“Around nine loads of waste, which were impossible to segregate, were sent to KEIL (Kerala Enviro Infrastructure Ltd) for landfilling on Sunday. The rest have been stored at our godowns in Palakkad, Malappuram, Ernakulam and Kollam. Mixed waste will be landfilled and the rest will be transported to cement factories,” Suresh Kumar said.