Where has the huge quantity of bio-medical waste known in common parlance as ‘hospital waste’ generated everyday from hospitals and health institutions in Jammu to go, appears no one’s concern in four main hospitals of the city. Throwing the same in the open or near drains etc finding its way direct into the river and other water bodies in both visible and invisible form was ultimately going to have a telling effect on the general health of the people, polluting the environment and otherwise generating public wrath. Such waste comprise infectious, hazardous and even radio-active material and the management of these hospitals was legally, socially and morally bound to follow specific guidelines set out by various laws passed by the Parliament, directions from the National Green Tribunal and Pollution Control Boards in respect of its proper management and final scientific disposal. Since on various occasions, concern for violation of norms has been conveyed to the management of these hospitals and curiously there being no perceptible change or adherence to the norms resulting in the material as such being treated casually, show cause notices by the Pollution Control Board (PCB) have now been served on Principal of the Government Medical College Jammu and Medical Superintendents of SMGS, CD, SSH and PDH. It may be noted that under rules, if satisfactory and convincing reasons in reply were not sent to PCB as proper response, Environmental Compensation could be levied and charged from them. Prosecution proceedings too could be initiated against them.
Moreover, not only violations and contravention of prevalent rules pertaining to properly handling , segregating, storing and disposing of the bio-medical waste have been observed and found out as a routine but other contraventions too have taken place. For instance, no consent has been obtained, which otherwise perhaps looked untenable to obtain, from the PCB under various Acts in operation to prevent and control pollution of water and air even though the same was imperative. Other ancillary violations need not to be enumerated here but nevertheless the effects and consequences of such a casual approach towards such a sensitive issue by the top management of the four main hospitals was directly going to cause adverse air and water pollution with long term irreversible adverse impact. In other similar issues where Environment Compensation was levied and realised from the contravening institutions, the money was again the public money and treated just like a form of ”another” ‘ Government expenditure. Except a bit of embarrassment to the management of such institutions, there was no perceptible impact of such levy and no improvement in overall management of waste material of any form. This could perhaps be true of the bio-medical waste too. The problem, unless looked at from a perspective of priority and all the connotations and prerequisites touched and resolved, the issue would continue to remain unsettled or at best resolved on an ad-hoc basis.
In this connection, has it been inquired into as to what problems these institutions were facing as the hospitals are managed by qualified people with adequate scientific background? The employees handling the bio-medical waste, the most vulnerable in the entire process, are reported to be ill informed, ignorant, not trained and ”managing” the job as they deem fit. An approach with lasting and deft handling was needed which could not take place by the Principal or the higher authority merely by ”writing” to respective Superintendents and they in turn writing to others in the junior levels. What we suggest is adopting a holistic and comprehensively covering approach where the management of the concerned hospitals, the authorities from the Medical and Health Education Department, Finance Department, Municipal Bodies, PCB authorities and other concerned jointly resolved the problems faced by these health institutions so that if any issue pertaining to the scientific and proper disposal came in the way, could be sorted out and resolved instantaneously. If the matter was allowed to be not attended on a permanent basis, at least as expected from these institutions which are directly connected with peoples’ health and well being, it would only be termed unfortunate and would be an invitation to creation of more problems including the wrath of the people living in the immediate neighbourhood.
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