Lok Sabha Question No. 1859 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2022-03-14
Subject: Disposal of Medical Waste
Ministry: ENVIRONMENT,  FORESTS AND CLIMATE CHANGE
Asked by: Sanjay Seth, Jayadev Galla

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION No. 1859

TO BE ANSWERED ON: 14.03.2022

## Disposal of Medical Waste

## 1859.   SHRI SANJAY SETH: SHRI JAYADEV GALLA:

Will  the    Minister  of  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST AND CLIMATE CHANGE be pleased to state:

- (a) whether there is a large amount of medical waste in the country and if so, whether its quantity has increased even more during the corona transition period;
- (b) whether  any  information  or  data  is  available  with  the  Government  to  ascertain  the quantity of medical waste collected per annum in the country;
- (c) whether the Government has released biomedical waste  guidelines for COVID  wastes and if so, the details of the number of violations that has occurred under these guidelines along with State-wise classification of the same;
- (d) the number of Common Bio-medical Waste Treatment and Disposal Facility (CBWTF) in the country along with the State-wise classification of the same;
- (e) the  channels  incorporated  by  States  without  CBWTF  in  disposing  Bio-medical  waste along with the plan for the disposal of the Medical-waste;
- (f) the safeguards afforded to the manual scavengers and waste collectors during the COVID crisis; and
- (g) whether the allocation for research on different methods of waste treatment, to assess and improve their sustainability and efficacy has been made by the Government and if so, the details thereof if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

MINISTER  OF  STATE  IN  THE  MINISTRY  OF  ENVIRONMENT,  FOREST  AND CLIMATE CHANGE (SHRI ASHWINI KUMAR CHOUBEY)

- (a)&(b) The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) compiles country-wide annual data of bio-medical waste (BMW) generation, collection and treatment based on the annual reports  submitted  by  respective  State  Pollution  Control  Boards/  Pollution  Control Committees (SPCBs/ PCCs). About 656 Tons/Day (TPD) of BMW was generated in the year 2020, out of which 590 TPD was collected and treated by the Common Biomedical Waste  Treatment  facilities  (CBWTFs).  Further,  about  84.61  TPD  of incrementalCOVID-19 BMW was generated between May 2020 to February 2022 in the  country  from  healthcare  facilities,  quarantine  centres/  camps,  sample collection centres,  laboratories,  home  care/  home  isolations  centres  engaged  in  treatment, diagnosis and quarantine of COVID-19 infected or suspected patients.
- (c) The  CPCB  had  issued  'Guidelines  for  Handling,  treatment  and  disposal  of  waste generated  during  treatment,  diagnostics  and  quarantine  of  COVID-19  patients'  in

March,  2020  and  developed  an  application  namely,  COVID19BWM  to  track  the generation  and  treatment  of  COVID-19  BMW  at  CBWTFs.  There  are  no  reported cases of violation of Guidelines; however, the CPCB has issued notices to 33 nos. of CBWTFs across the country for not reporting data on COVID19BWM, as mentioned below:

-  Fifteen (15) in Karnataka
-  Five (5) in Maharashtra
-  Two  (2)  CBWTFs  each  in  Bihar,  Gujarat,  Jharkhand,  Madhya  Pradesh  and Telangana
-  One (1) each in Odisha, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh
- (d) There are  208  Common  Bio-medical Waste Treatment Facilities  (CBWTFs) operational in the country for treatment and disposal of Bio-medical Waste (BMW) as per the information furnished by SPCBs/ PCCs for the year 2020. The State/ UTwise details are Annexed.
- (e) There are no operational CBWTFs in nine (9) States/ Union Territories. The BMW treatment  and  disposal  in  these  areas  is  done  through  captive  treatment  facilities operated by healthcare facilities themselves.
- (f) To ensure safety  of  workers  engaged  in  BMW  handling  and  collection,  the  CPCB guidelines on 'Handling, treatment and disposal of waste generated during treatment, diagnostics and quarantine of COVID-19 patients' prescribe for regular sanitization and  provision  of  adequate  personal  protective  equipment  like  three  layer  masks, splash proof aprons/gowns, nitrile gloves, gum boots and safety goggles.
- (g) The Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016 (BMWM Rules, 2016) notified by the  Ministry  of  Environment,  Forest  and  Climate  Change,    (MoEFCC)  stipulates source  segregation  of  BMW  into  four  categories  and  prescribe  category-specific effective technological options like incineration, autoclaving, microwaving, hydroclaving  and  chemical  disinfection.  The  BMWM  Rules,  2016  also  include provisions to adopt new technologies for BMW treatment, after validation. Further, the  MoEFCC  is  also  implementing  a  central  sector  scheme  to  provide  financial support to innovative research projects aimed at environmentally sound management of waste, including BMW.

*****

ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN PART (d) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1859 DUE FOR REPLY ON 14/03/2022 REGARDING 'DISPOSAL OF MEDICAL WASTE' RAISED BY  HON'BLE  MEMBER  OF  PARLIAMENT  SHRI  SANJAY  SETH  AND  SHRI  JAYADEV GALLA

## State-wise details of Operational CBWTFs in India

| Name of the State/Union Territory                       | Operational CBWTFs   |
|---------------------------------------------------------|----------------------|
| Andaman Nicobar                                         | Nil                  |
| Andhra Pradesh                                          | 12                   |
| Arunachal Pradesh                                       | Nil                  |
| Assam                                                   | 1                    |
| Bihar                                                   | 4                    |
| Chandigarh                                              | 1                    |
| Chhattisgarh                                            | 4                    |
| Daman &Diu and Dadra &Nagar Haveli                      | Nil                  |
| Delhi                                                   | 2                    |
| Goa                                                     | Nil                  |
| Gujarat                                                 | 20                   |
| Haryana                                                 | 11                   |
| Himachal Pradesh                                        | 3                    |
| Jharkhand                                               | 4                    |
| Jammu &Kashmir                                          | 3                    |
| Karnataka                                               | 25                   |
| Kerala                                                  | 1                    |
| Ladakh                                                  | Nil                  |
| Lakshadweep                                             | Nil                  |
| Madhya Pradesh                                          | 12                   |
| Maharashtra                                             | 30                   |
| Manipur                                                 | 1                    |
| Meghalaya                                               | 1                    |
| Mizoram                                                 | Nil                  |
| Nagaland                                                | Nil                  |
| Odisha                                                  | 6                    |
| Puducherry                                              | 1                    |
| Punjab                                                  | 5                    |
| Rajasthan                                               | 11                   |
| Sikkim                                                  | Nil                  |
| Tamil Nadu                                              | 10                   |
| Telangana                                               | 11                   |
| Tripura                                                 | Nil                  |
| Uttarakhand                                             | 2                    |
| Uttar Pradesh                                           | 21                   |
| West Bengal                                             | 6                    |
| Director General Armed Forces Medical Services (DGAFMS) | Nil                  |
| Total                                                   | 208                  |

(Source:CPCB)

*****