THE TIMES OF INDIA, Gurgaon, TNN | Jul 2, 2015, 03.16 AM IST
This includes the government-run General Hospital in Sector 10. “None of the city hospitals, including a government one, follow our biomedical waste disposal norms. We’ve sent a show cause notice to General Hospital and final notices to the rest,” said an HSPCB official.
It is mandatory for hospitals and clinics, even those without indoor wards, to get their authorization for disposing of BMW renewed every three years. Permits for most city hospitals ran out in 2014. “Most of the defaulters are clinics and small hospitals, run by a single doctor. We can keep a check on segregation, collection and disposal of the waste only when a hospital or clinic gets the authorization,” said a senior HSPCB officer.
To segregate waste, hospitals and clinics have to maintain four colour-coded dustbins � blue, red, black and yellow. Collected waste is not expected to be stored in dustbins for more than 24 hours. Only authorized service providers are permitted to collect and dispose of it.
In Haryana, HSPCB is responsible for enforcing Bio-Medical Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 1998, of the Government of India. Time-to-time, it conducts inspections on BMW generating units, and checks records of generation, storage, treatment and disposal of BMW that are maintained by the units. The board then submits the information to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). “HSPCB will impose heavy penalty on defaulters, and take legal action against them if required,” said a HSPCB official.
Refuting HSPCB’s claims, Dr Jai Bhagwan, medical superintendent at General Hospital, said, “We have been authorized by the board and have relevant documents to prove it. I think there is some confusion because of the recent transfer of officials at the board.”