30 facilities set up in Maharashtra for scientific disposal of Covid-19 bio-medical waste: MPCB

Thirty common facilities have been set up for the treatment and scientific disposal of Covid-19 bio-medical waste generated across the state, the Maharashtra Pollution

Thirty common facilities have been set up for the treatment and scientific disposal of Covid-19 bio-medical waste generated across the state, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) informed the Bombay high court (HC) on Tuesday.

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In an affidavit filed in the HC, Shankar Waghmare, MPCB’s regional officer at Kalyan, stated that the general waste generated at Covid treatment, isolation and quarantine facilities is being disposed of in accordance with provisions of the Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules, by burying it in deep pits at civic dumping grounds.

Contaminated bio-medical waste from these centres is being collected by common treatment facility operators for scientific disposal at separate, dedicated sites, the affidavit stated. It added that 82℅ of urban local bodies in Maharashtra have set up separate teams for the collection of contaminated Covid-19 waste.

The affidavit was submitted in reply to a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Dombivli resident Kishor Sohoni, who complained that though prevailing rules mandate scientific disposal of bio-medical waste, bio-medical waste generated at Covid-19 treatment centres in Kalyan was being dumped at Adharwadi dumping ground by garbage collectors.

His PIL, filed through advocate Sadhana Kumar, stated that such dumping of contaminated waste was very dangerous, considering the spread and intensity of the Covid-19 infection.

“During this pandemic, the direct disposal of bio-medical waste from Covid hospitals is a serious threat to human life and should be stopped immediately,” he said, adding, “Rigorous monitoring is required to ensure such waste does not end up infecting others, including garbage collectors.”

MPCB has, however, maintained that no Covid-19 bio-medical waste was found dumped at Adharwadi dumping ground when Waghmare along with MPCB and Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC) officials visited the site.

The civic body has set up a dedicated site for disposal of bio-medical waste at Umbarde, for which a mechanism has been created to monitor the collection and disposal of Covid-19 bio-medical waste generated within the limits of the municipal corporation, the affidavit added.

A bench of chief justice Dipankar Datta and justice Anuja Prabhudessai has now posted Sohoni’s PIL for hearing next week.