Many hospitals and health clinics in the city are yet to evolve a system for the safe disposal of bio-medical waste since most of them lack authorisation from the Pollution Control Board of Assam (PCBA).
According to a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) in 2016, only 17 per cent of the hospitals, clinics and nursing homes in the state have obtained authorisation from the PCBA.
Out of a total of 1,014 health care establishments in Assam, merely 178 have applied for authorisation from the PCBA which is a clear violation of the mandatory norms.
Bio-medical can be infectious since they consist of discarded drugs, sharp waste, microbiological and biotechnological waste, human anatomical waste and animal wastes among others.
As per the bio-medical waste rules 2016, every healthcare institution treating 1,000 or more patients in a month, has to obtain authorisation from the PCBA for generating, collecting, receiving, storing, treating, disposing or handling of bio-medical waste.
The absence of valid authorisation by the PCBA means that hospitals not following mandatory norms related to proper treatment of bio-medical waste could lead to such hazardous waste being mixed with the regular municipal waste, say health experts.
It could also result in the absence of records with the hospitals for the generation of day-to-day bio-medical waste.
PCBA officials acknowledged that there were still many hospitals which haven’t applied for authorisation.
"We are aware of the fact that several hospitals lack authorisation and we have been pressurising them from time to time. It is absolute necessary and in everyone’s interest to follow all norms as bio-medical waste can lead to fatal infections,” DN Das, chief environmental engineer at PCBA told G Plus.
Section 15 of the Environment (Protection) Act 1986 provides for a jail term of up to five years or a fine up to one lakh rupees for failing to comply with the provisions of the act.
PCBA lax in enforcing norms
As the sole authority vested with the responsibility to enforce disposal of bio-medical waste, the PCBA is required to conduct regular monitoring of hospitals and health care establishments (HCEs).
However, the CAG audit found that only 9 per cent HCEs were monitored by the PCBA in the state.
The PCBA authorities however has a different take on the problem. Officials explained that disposal of bio-medical has never been a problem either in the city or in other parts of the state.
“The overall situation is not so bad and many hospitals also adhere to the rules. Even though there are a few problems, they are being looked into by the board,” said an official of the PCBA.
As per the bio-medical waste management rules 2016 issued by the ministry of environment, forest and climate change, the waste should be segregated into different coloured bags which must be bar coded.
Authorities at the Gauhati Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) which receives thousands of patients every day informed that they have a bio-medical waste disposal system in place.
"We keep the waste properly segregated and divided into biological and non-biological waste and follow all the norms as laid down by the central pollution control board (CPCB),” informed GMCH superintendent Dr Ramen Talukdar. He added that they also have their own sewage treatment plant in place.
"As the hospital is quite big, we take special care to treat bio-medical waste. We will face a lot of problems if we don’t manage bio-medical waste properly and in an efficient manner,” said Talukdar.
Advisory committee yet to be formed
In another violation of the bio-medical waste management rules, the state government is yet to form an advisory committee which will monitor implementation of the rules to ensure proper handling and disposal of bio-medical waste.
The advisory committee is supposed to have an official of the state pollution control board as one of its members along with representatives of other departments.
“The advisory committee should hopefully be constituted within this year,” said Das.
The CAG report in its recommendation to the state government said, “The government must ensure that no HCEs, veterinary institutions and animal houses operate without authorisation of the PCBA so that the lives and health of humans and animals are not endangered.”
It further states that the PCBA should take penal action against the violators under Environment (Protection) Act.