‘Delhi may ban new on-site incineration soon’

The primary reason that the Bio Medical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998 was amended in 2000 to include alternate technologies to incineration, to restrict incineration to a few categories and to standardize ways of incinerating waste was due to the Pulblic Interest Liltigation filed by the NGO-Srishti. Credit also goes to Sristhi for ringing the alarm bell with the Delhi Pollution Control Board about the ill effects of incineration. In an interview with Rita Dutta, Ravi Agarwal, director, Srishti reveals the on-going efforts of his organisation against incineration.

What has been the initiative taken by Srishti to minimise the use of incineration for bio-medical waste?

In tune with international developments such as Kyoto Protocol, Stockholm Convention and the recommendations of Supreme Court constituted Burman committee, Srishti has campaigned at the national and international level to make the government of India take cognisance of incinerators as a toxic technology.

The first draft rules of the Indian Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF), issued in June 1995 stated that all 50 bedded hospital and above must install on-site incinerators. Taking into account these developments, the apex court, in March 1996 ordered that this be implemented for the city of Delhi. Srishti has been arguing with the government against incineration since 1995, when it filed a PIL seeking review of a Supreme Court order for installation of incinerators for medical waste. Srishti filed a PIL against this order and asked the Court for both the inclusion of alternative and safer technologies in the rules as well as as their standardization. The court subsequently passed an order making these alternatives a part of the national rules on bio-medical waste. Later during the rule framing process, it was on the behest of Srishti that the concept of centralised facilities was given acceptance.

What has been the role of the State Pollution Control Board in this issue?

In 2000, Srishti, compiled a national survey of the status of running of these obsolete incinerators and presented it to the MoEF and Central Pollution Control Board. Through our deliberations and work, government has now decided to limit incineration to three categories , as against the previously option of category- 1,2,3,5 and 6. The Delhi government is planning to issue an order to ban any on-cite incinerator. The older ones have been asked to meet the norms or shut down. Out of 54 incinerators in Delhi, around 2002, 28 exist today. Our efforts continue and we are now trying for elimination of incineration and adoption of environment friendly options for treatment of evthis category.

What has been the response of hospitals?

Hospitals have started thinking in terms of shutting down their on-site facilities and start using off-site facilities. Initially a lot of hospitals thought that incineration was indispensable, but now increasingly more and more hospitals and doctors have stared thinking on lines of doing away with it.

Do you think that the government is not making much of an effort to phase out incineration?

The scale of action is low and the decisions have been slow to come with respect to the efforts put in by the NGOs, but things are changing.