TN: Hospital to upload the details of generated waste online

The norm was decided in a meeting on September 22, which was conducted by Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Broad and state president of the Indian Medical Association along with with representatives from the Directorate of Medical Education (DME) and some private hospitals were also present in it, stated the board.

This came after; Jawaharlal Shanmugam, a petitioner from Thiruvanmiyur submitted pictorial evidence of the biomedical waste being sold by Kanchi Kamakoti Sankara Childs Trust to a private company Karung Kalikamba, to NGT. The biomedical waste which was sold weighed around 230 kg.

Investigations were conducted by CBCID into the matter and a confidential report was submitted to the southern bench of NGT in a sealed cover.

As stated by Shanmugam, the order of the tribunal implicated the private company, Karung Kalikamba, of Tondiarpet for purchasing bio-medical waste from Kanchi Kamakoti Sankara Childs Trust hospital.

In this connection, the green court said that as there were variations in bio-medical waste disposal reports from 21 hospitals across the city, the TNPCB had to explain the reason.On Wednesday, the petitioner told the National Green Tribunal that the private company which had purchased the bio-medical waste had already vacated the leased premises.

Implicating an involvement of a lobby in the selling and buying of biomedical waste, he again requested the tribunal to look into the matter. The Tribunal, thus, in this follow up had directed Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board to initiate a probe. The tribunal also asked the board the reason for which it was not initiating action for criminal proceedings in the demeaned activities conducted by the company.

Highlighting a slot of discrepancy in  the waste disposal reports submitted by 21 hospitals (out of 81 randomly selected hospitals earlier), the petitioner Shanmugam, put forward another request to NGT that one of the reports said while a private hospital weighed the waste as 250kg, a CTFP weighed it as 1,250kg.

Taking immediate action in this connection the tribunal has further directed the TNPCB to ensure that the 21 hospitals mentioned maintain a proper register with them displaying the details, so that the figures of both could be tallied. An Action Taken Report (ATR) is also ordered to be submitted by TNPCB in this concern. The Tribunal has posted the matter for further hearing on December 12.

Read Also: Bhopal: NGT pulls up People's Hospital on bio-medical waste violations