Experts’ panel to look into disposal of medical waste

Saurabh Malik

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 22

The Punjab and Haryana High Court today directed the constitution of a committee of medical experts for looking into proper disposal of medical waste following the Covid-19 outbreak.

“Contamination can prove fatal for citizens and, thus, jeopardise their rights under Article 21 of the Constitution,” the Bench of Justice Rajan Gupta and Justice Karamjit Singh ruled, while passing the order.

The Bench made it clear that the committee would be headed by the PGI Director and comprise the Director, Health Services, and the GMSH, Sector 16, Director. The committee would go through the entire issue before submitting its report. For the purpose, the Bench set a two-week deadline.

“The committee shall be at liberty to seek the assistance of the Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Chandigarh, or any other authority competent to throw light on the matter,” Justice Gupta asserted on behalf of the Bench.

Giving details, Justice Gupta asserted that the court was not an expert body to express its opinion on the issue of proper disposal of medical waste. As such, the court found it imperative to direct the examination of the matter by an expert medical team “so that the needful is done in a proper manner in the existing Covid-19 conditions”.

The Bench was hearing a petition filed by Paramjit Singh against the UT and other respondents on making the health infrastructure more robust by underscoring the issue of collection, treatment and transportation of bio-medical waste generated in Chandigarh.

The issue before the Bench was whether such hazardous waste was disposed of in a proper manner, “particularly in the conditions prevailing in view of Covid-19”. A status report filed on behalf of the UT Pollution Control Board in response to the contentions raised in the petition was placed before the Bench during the course of the hearing.

Among other things, it said Chandigarh had only one biomedical waste treatment facility for collection, transportation and disposal of biomedical waste generated by healthcare facilities in the city.

The affidavit added that there were around 900 healthcare facilities operational in Chandigarh. All units were having an agreement with the biomedical waste treatment facility.

All healthcare facilities operational in Chandigarh were segregating biomedical waste in accordance with the Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016, and handing it over it to the biomedical waste treatment facility for the final disposal.

The biomedical waste from all the healthcare facilities was transported in 10 different vehicles to the treatment facility located in the Industrial Area for final treatment, it added.

The case will now come up for further hearing in August second week.