48 health care facilities not following Bio-medical Waste Management Rules, DPCC to NGT

Forty-eight health care facilities, including RML and Hindu Rao, in the national capital were not following the Bio-medical Waste Management Rules, 2016 and a penalty of Rs 1.34 crore has been levied on them for violation of the provisions, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) told the National Green Tribunal on Monday.

The pollution monitoring body told the NGT that there are 136 health care facilities operating in Delhi which have more than 50 beds, including one homeopathic hospital, and all have valid agreement with common biomedical waste treatment and disposal facility.

"All these health care facilities have valid agreement with the common biomedical waste treatment and disposal facility for safe transportation, treatment and disposal of biomedical waste generated from their hospitals," the DPCC told a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice A K Goel.

It further said that out of the above, 132 health care facilities have applied for authorisation or renewal of authorisation under the Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016.

"Out of above 132 applications, 97 health care facilities have been issued authorisation under the BMWM Rules, 2016. In the rest of 35 health care facilities, application for authorisation is under consideration and pending for want of certain information like noise monitoring reports of DG sets etc. Four health care facilities have not applied for renewal of authorisation under the BMWM Rules, 2016 after expiry of their authorisation," DPCC said.

"All (four) these HCFS have been issued show cause notices for closure and have been levied environmental damage compensation of Rs 29,86,250. All the 136 hospitals, having above 50 beds, are connected with sewage system of DJB. However, the DPCC Board has directed them to install waste treatment plants for reuse of the treated effluent in horticulture etc. The STP has been installed by 131 of them for treating and reusing the entire effluent generated from their premises," it said.

According to the report filed by the DPCC, all 136 health care facilities have been issued letters to implement bar coding system in their facilities as per provisions of the BMWM Rules and guidelines published by the Central Pollution Control Board. Out of these, 85 health care facilities have already implemented the bar code system, it said.

"Action is being taken to ensure compliance by remaining health care facilities. Show cause notices for violation of rules have been issued in case of 48 health care facilities. Environmental damage amounting to Rs 1,34,48,750 has been levied in these health care facilities for violation of of provisions of BMWM Rules, 2016," the DPCC said.

The submission came in response to a plea filed by NGO Veterans Forum for Transparency in Public Life seeking to prepare a complete inventory of the units generating biomedical waste, its collection and disposal in accordance with the Biomedical Waste Rules, 2016.