Nearly 146 tonnes of bio-medical waste is generated per day in the country due to diagnostic activities and treatment of COVID-19 patients, the Ministry of Environment informed Parliament on Monday.
Responding to a query in the Upper House of Parliament, Minister of State for Environment Babul Supriyo said that as per the figures from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), approximately 146 Tons per day of incremental BMW is generated in the country due to diagnostic activities, treatment and quarantine of COVID-19 patients.
He said that as per the CPCB, approximately 616 Tons per day of Bio-Medical Waste (BMW) was generated in the country during 2019.
Responding to a query on actions being taken for disposal of the waste, the minister said that for ensuring safe disposal of biomedical waste including COVID-19 waste, the CPCB has brought out dedicated guidelines for handling, treatment and disposal of waste generated during treatment, diagnostics and quarantine of COVID-19 patients.
“As per the provisions of Bio Medical Waste Management (BMWM) Rules, 2016, State Government(s)/UT Administration(s) are required to ensure that adequate infrastructure exists in their jurisdiction for treatment and disposal of BMW.
“Accordingly, state pollution control boards and pollution control committees (SPCBs/ PCCs) have authorized 202 Common Bio-medical Waste Treatment and Disposal Facilities (CBWTFs) to collect and dispose the BMW, including COVID-19 waste. Further, there are about 18,178 captive disposal facilities installed by individual HCFs for pre-treatment and/ or final treatment of the BMW,” he told the Rajya Sabha.