UPPCB to submit report on violation of Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules: NGT

NEW DELHI: On May 6, 2019, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directed the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Board (UPPCB) to submit a report by the Waste Disposal Agency in Mathura district, on a plea alleging violation of Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules-2016.

A bench headed by Justice Adarsh ​​Kumar Goyal, NGT chairperson asked the UPPCB to submit a report within a month and posted the matter for further hearing on August 22.

The directions came while the NGT was hearing a petition filed by Dharmendra Kumar Mehta, environment activist. The plea said that the chief medical officer, Mathura wrote a letter to DG (Health), which states that the existing medical waste collected on random basis in rural and urban areas by the existing facility is adversely affecting public health, patients and the hospital staff.

Similarly, Indian Medical Association (IMA) also issued a letter to the chief medical officer, Mathura and expressed their dissatisfaction over the work of the common biomedical waste treatment plant and requested for an alternative facility.

The petition has sought the formation of a Joint Committee of officials of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the officials of the UPPCB to inspect the biodegradable waste disposal facility.

The NGT has also directed the UPPCB to take action against medical facilities for violation of various provisions of the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act – 1976, Bio Medical Waste Management Rules-2016.