Apprise of fines taken from hospitals lacking biomedical waste treatment system: HC to UP govt

The Allahabad High Court has asked the Uttar Pradesh government to apprise it of the action taken to recover fines from nursing homes and hospitals in the city which lack a system for treatment of biomedical waste.

A two-judge bench comprising Justices PKS Baghel and Piyush Agrawal passed the order in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Vaishali Singh and others. It fixed September 26 as the next date of hearing in the case.

The plea alleged that a survey was conducted in 41 hospitals in Allahabad which found that most did not have a proper system for the treatment of biomedical waste and it was alarming.

Disposal of the waste without treatment was dangerous because people might come into contact with it, it said.

According to the petition, the municipal corporation did not provide proper equipment to its sweepers who dispose of biomedical waste.

It alleged that though the central government has framed rules for the treatment of biomedical waste, the state government has not done enough to implement it.

The petition requested the state government to ensure that rules of the Centre regarding biomedical waste treatment are properly implemented in Allahabad.

During the course of the hearing, the Uttar Pradesh Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) informed the court that it had issued notices to erring nursing homes to deposit environmental compensation/fine and it was within the power of the state government to collect such fines.

On this, the court asked the state government to apprise it of the status of recovery of fines by the next date of hearing.