Following the famous saying, " polluter pays" principle, the cost of treating the polluted land/water/air along with penalty should be recovered from the violators. Bank guarantees should be taken from all production facilities and should be encashed in case of violations and no action taken on these violations even after specified time.
Hospitals pose health hazard to city
Tonnes Of Trash Dumped Into Water Bodies In Violation Of Rules - Sudipta Sengupta TNN
Hyderabad: The recent crackdown on city hospitals by the Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) has exposed just how Hyderabad is facing hazards from the healthcare sector. As much as a few lakh litres of contaminated water from the toilets and laundry of these medical institutions, many of them known for their swank interiors and high-profile clientele, are routinely being drained into the Hussain Sagar lake and Musi river.
And adding to this stink is the appalling solid waste management system in these hospitals, the series of PCB inspections have found. In fact in the past one week alone, officials have unearthed tonnes of trash, including severed parts of a human body, infectious needles and bottles indiscriminately dumped on the premises of most hospitals in the city. So horrific have been the revelations that the PCB has now decided to continue with these intensive checks, expected to last for a few more weeks, to see if hospitals are abiding by the specified bio-medical waste disposal and pollution norms.
“Chances are that most are flouting the norms,” said a PCB official before disclosing a startling fact: none of the 6,372 hospitals in AP have consent for operation (CFO) certificate from the pollution control board. “Around 15 of them procured CFO in the past but they have lapsed now. Nobody has come forward for renewal since,” the official added. Interestingly, a close look at the rulebook shows that no organisation discharging chemical waste can operate without a CFO certificate from the PCB.
“These hospitals have been violating all waste management norms citing an array of reasons,” said sources from the health care industry. While they claim they do not have the space to set up sewerage treatment plants (for the liquid waste), they rue that the fee charged by the private companies appointed by PCB to collect the solid waste is very high, the sources added. This, even as the rate chart of these `collection’ houses is just about Rs 3.50 per bed a day.
“Our charges have always been very nominal. Yet, we do not see many hospitals keen on signing up with us,” said an official of G J Multiclave (India) Pvt Ltd, one of the two companies engaged in collection of solid waste, refusing to comment any further.
But while such shocking disclosures raise a question on the credibility of hospitals across AP, city environmentalists feel this also puts the PCB in a tight spot. Recollecting a similar drive initiated by the board about six years ago, they say how that initiative too fizzled out after making headlines for a few days. “It is close to impossible to sustain something like this. Now that the board is active, most hospitals are found implementing the norms. But it will all be forgotten in a few weeks time. Hospitals will again go back to their old ways,” said an environmentalist who has been following the drive closely.
And adding to this stink is the appalling solid waste management system in these hospitals, the series of PCB inspections have found. In fact in the past one week alone, officials have unearthed tonnes of trash, including severed parts of a human body, infectious needles and bottles indiscriminately dumped on the premises of most hospitals in the city. So horrific have been the revelations that the PCB has now decided to continue with these intensive checks, expected to last for a few more weeks, to see if hospitals are abiding by the specified bio-medical waste disposal and pollution norms.
“Chances are that most are flouting the norms,” said a PCB official before disclosing a startling fact: none of the 6,372 hospitals in AP have consent for operation (CFO) certificate from the pollution control board. “Around 15 of them procured CFO in the past but they have lapsed now. Nobody has come forward for renewal since,” the official added. Interestingly, a close look at the rulebook shows that no organisation discharging chemical waste can operate without a CFO certificate from the PCB.
“These hospitals have been violating all waste management norms citing an array of reasons,” said sources from the health care industry. While they claim they do not have the space to set up sewerage treatment plants (for the liquid waste), they rue that the fee charged by the private companies appointed by PCB to collect the solid waste is very high, the sources added. This, even as the rate chart of these `collection’ houses is just about Rs 3.50 per bed a day.
“Our charges have always been very nominal. Yet, we do not see many hospitals keen on signing up with us,” said an official of G J Multiclave (India) Pvt Ltd, one of the two companies engaged in collection of solid waste, refusing to comment any further.
But while such shocking disclosures raise a question on the credibility of hospitals across AP, city environmentalists feel this also puts the PCB in a tight spot. Recollecting a similar drive initiated by the board about six years ago, they say how that initiative too fizzled out after making headlines for a few days. “It is close to impossible to sustain something like this. Now that the board is active, most hospitals are found implementing the norms. But it will all be forgotten in a few weeks time. Hospitals will again go back to their old ways,” said an environmentalist who has been following the drive closely.
The Musi river flows with hazardous medical waste
PCB got extensive powers to suspend plant operations. Also, it can direct water and power suppliers to stop their supplies to the erring industry. It can cancel the land allotment and can take back whatever land is allotted. It can file charges and drag to courts for suitable punishments. The reason can be as simple as change of raw material or process through some other process, slight modification of the process, and so on.
It is better to adhere to the process and throughput at what we are permitted and keep PCB in good books.