A local court has sentenced the owner of a private health institute to two years of rigorous imprisonment (RI) for violating biomedical waste rules.
Sub-Divisional Judicial Magistrate Sanjeev Kumar Samanta convicted Anjan Kumar Das, proprietor of a clinic and nursing home here and sentenced him to undergo RI. The convict was also directed to pay Rs 50,000 as fine. The court pronounced the verdict for contravention of Section 15 Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, and violation of Biomedical Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 1998, said State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) counsel Deb Kishore Kar.
"This is the first court verdict on biomedical waste rule violation. Around 20 institutes, including government medical college hospitals are facing charges of violation of Bio-Medical Waste (Management and Handling) rules. The SPCB has registered cases against the authorities of errant hospitals under Section-15, Environment (Protection) Act, 1986. The cases are under various stages of trial in various courts," said Senior law Officer, SPCB, Bhagbat Prasad Pattajoshi.