Follow bio-medical waste management rules or pay penalties, TNPCB to hospitals

The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) has asked the overall city and village hospitals and their stake holders to comply with Bio-medical Waste Management rules 2016. The government further warned of levying hefty fines on those violating the regulations.

The principal bench of NGT, in its interim order on July 15 had directed states to levy environmental compensation on occupiers failing to comply with the BMW Rules.

All agencies who generate, collect, receive, store, transport, treat, dispose of, or handle biomedical waste in any form, including hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, dispensaries, veterinary institutions, animal houses, pathological laboratories, blood banks, Ayush Hospitals, clinical establishments, research or educational institutions, health camps, medical or surgical camps, vaccination camps, blood donation camps, first aid rooms of schools, forensic laboratories and research labs should obtain consent and authorisation.

Under Rule 10, “Every occupier or operator handling bio-medical waste, irrespective of the quantity shall make an application in form II to the prescribed authority, i.e. State Pollution Control Board and Pollution Control Committee, as the case may be, for grant of authorisation and the prescribed authority shall grant the provisional authorisation in form (III) and the validity of such authorisation for bedded health care facility and operator of a common facility shall be synchronised with the validity of the consents”.

“All stake holders in Tamil Nadu shall immediately apply and obtain consent of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board under the Water and the Air Acts along with authorisation under the BMW Rules. Non-bedded occupiers shall apply and obtain one-time authorisation without delay,” TNPCB said in a release.