HC hears PIL on hospitals’ disposal of bio medical waste
Are incinerators the only option?
The Bombay High Court heard a strange case related to bio medical waste (BMW) last week. Hospitals are supposed to dispose of BMW the most effective way. The Bio Medical Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules of 1998, and its Amendments in 2000 and 2003, recommend incineration or deep burial. And the categories of BMW that come under this include human anatomical parts, animal waste and discarded medicines and drugs. But incredibly, 21 hospitals in Mumbai refused to accept the same. The Bombay High Court, hearing a Public Interest Litigation last week, asked the state to file an affidavit within two weeks explaining what has been done regarding the implementation of recommendations by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) regarding the rules.
The court also asked the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) to file its affidavit regarding the incinerators at hospitals run by the civic administration.
During the hearing of the PIL the state informed the court that in 366 hospitals across the state, the method of burying BMW has been adopted. However, the court pointed out that the procedure was okay in rural areas where the population is less than five lakh people. In urban areas a more professional method of disposal of waste has to be implemented. An Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) proposal to set up three waste management facilities in the city and suburbs has been pending with the BMC since a year. The court observed that the affidavit by the state was inadequate, equivocal and not proper.
The MPCB had also filed two affidavits of which one states that there are no incinerators in any of the 36 hospitals in the city to dispose off waste such as human organs, tissues, etc. The MPCB’s advocate Sadhana Mahashabde submitted that as per the 2003 amendments in the guidelines of the CPCB, the state pollution board has conducted a survey and found that 15 hospitals have agreed to be part of a scheme for common incinerators. But 21 hospitals are yet to join the common incinerators facilities made available. The MPCB advocate also said that the board does periodic monitoring and even takes disciplinary action and imposes a penalty by asking hospitals to close down the services if found not abiding by the rules.
The court declared that it would hold the municipal commissioner or whoever is in charge of the health department responsible. It described the MPCB’s action as weak because the Habib Hospital, which has been issued a show cause notice asking why it should not be closed down, has already moved the court! “If there are 21 hospitals that have not complied with the rules, should they not face the consequence of the law? And what is the consequence of law that follows,” asked the court.