India: BRD Medical College Gorakhpur fined Rs 5 crore

BRD

Gorakhpur (UP), Jan 8 (PTI) National Green Tribunal (NGT) has slapped a fine of Rs 5 crores on BRD Medical college in Gorakhpur for failing to ensure proper disposal of medical waste, said sources in the Pollution Control Board office here.

As per a senior official in the PCB office, a team of NGT had visited the medical college in November and subsequently asked the college to pay Rs 5 crore fine.

The team found the medical waste of the college was not being disposed properly, with the waste being dumped and burnt in the campus, said the official who did not want to be identified.

In November, the UP team of NGT visited BRD College and found Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016 being "seriously violated" by the college as heaps of undisposed medical waste were causing air and land pollution with foul smell emanating from them, even as no arrangements were made to put separate dustbins to dispose four types of bio-medical waste which included, infectious waste obtained from HIV, TB, and cancer patients, the official pointed out.

The regional officer of Pollution Control Board Ghanshyam Kumar, when contacted, confirmed the visit of the NGT team which also made certain recommendations to the board on the basis of its report.

"The board is analysing the report but no letter has reached us for compliance of the fine," Kumar pointed out.

BRD principal Ganesh Kumar, however, refused to comment saying he would be in a position to respond only after consultation with legal cell of the college.

BRD Medical College faces huge load of patients from districts of east UP, west Bihar and even Nepal.