CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) on Monday has asked all the hospitals and other stakeholders to comply with Biomedical Waste Management (BMW) Rules, 2016 or pay fines.
The Principal Bench of National Green Tribunal in its interim order on July 15 has directed States to levy environmental compensation on occupiers failing to comply with the BMW Rules.
All persons who generate, collect, receive, store, transport, treat, dispose, or handle biomedical waste in any form including hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, dispensaries, veterinary institutions, animal houses, pathological laboratories, blood banks, Ayush hospitals, clinical establishments, research or educational institutions, health camps, medical or surgical camps, vaccination camps, blood donation camps, first aid rooms of schools, forensic laboratories and research labs should obtain authorisation.
Under Rule 10, “...Every occupier or operator handling bio-medical waste, irrespective of the quantity shall make an application in Form II to the prescribed authority i.e. State Pollution Control Board and Pollution Control Committee, as the case may be, for grant of authorization and the prescribed authority shall grant the provisional authorization in Form III and the validity of such authorization for bedded health care facility and operator of a common facility shall be synchronized with the validity of the consents...”.
"All stakeholders in Tamil Nadu shall immediately apply and obtain consents of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board under the Water and the Air Acts along with authorization under the BMW Rules. Non-bedded occupiers shall apply and obtain one-time authorization without delay," TNPCB said in a release.
In a report submitted before NGT last month, Centre Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has found several shortcomings in the implementation of BMW Rules in Tamil Nadu and proposed closure of health care facilities for continued violation.
Tamil Nadu has been asked to carry out an inventory of the number of healthcare facilities, biomedical waste generation, its collection, treatment and disposal within three months.
Interestingly, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has been submitting contradicting figures on the number of health care facilities and quantum of waste generated during last two hearing before NGT in the case filed by social activist Jawaharlal Shanmugam. In April, TNPCB said there were 4,307 healthcare facilities generating 17,226 tonnes of bio-medical waste per annum. But, the latest submission says there are 7,651 healthcare facilities.