The health care facilities (HCF) in Jaipur are openly flouting the acts governing handling and storage of bio-medical waste and disposing waste, spewing carcinogenic gases and posing severe health hazards to residents in the vicinity.

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India’s report for the year ended March 31, 2013 highlights the apathy of HCFs in this regard and holds Rajasthan State Pollution Control Board (RSPCB), empowered by the state government for implementation of bio-medical waste rules, and the Common Bio-medical Waste Treatment Facility (CBWTF) responsible.

Jaipur has 784 bio-medical waste generating centres, including 79 government HCFs and 705 private HFCs. The CAG report was prepared after a field study of some of these centres for over a year. The report says that not only was the mandatory authorisation not obtained for generation, collection, reception, storage, transportation, treatment and disposal of bio-medical waste from the RSPCB, but the colour code at the point of generation of this waste was also not adhered to.

The report also names SMS hospital, Government Dental College and Hospital, Jaipuria hospital, Haribux Kanwatia Hospital and Veterinary Poly Clinic for not having effluent treatment plants for liquid waste. In fact, the effluent from these hospitals is directly discharged into the public sewer in violation of Schedule V of the Bio-Medical Waste Rules.

In fact, even the location of the CBWTF at Khori-Ropara, Kanota, has been questioned by the CAG report. As per the Centre Pollution Control Board guidelines, CBWTF is required to be located at places far away from residential and sensitive areas so that they have minimal impact on people living there.

Source: TNN