State panel has not met for 3 years

Ahmedabad: This is why infected syringes find their way into the recycling market putting countless lives at risk. A 15-member committee consisting of state health and pollution control board officials which was to monitor that every medical waste produced anywhere in Gujarat is disposed off according to norms has not met for the last three years.
"I don't remember having a meeting with health officials on this matter.Our regional offices are monitoring disposal of medical waste" says chairman of Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB), CL Meena. This only reflects the level seriousness of the state government.
Call it the lack of co-ordination between the health department and GPCB that has cost the state dear as 56 people died of Hepatitis-B mainly because of contaminated syringes. The slack implementation of Bio-Medical Waste (management and handling) Rules (BMWR), 1998 has led recycled medical waste into the market
What's more is that state government's Nirmal Gujarat drive, which took up the issue of biomedical waste couple of years ago, seems to have left it out of its priority list.
"Our core focus area is to stop defecation in the open, construct toilets and ensure solid waste management facilities are in place. BMWR is not our focus it is on the fringe, which we take up at review meetings," says mission director of Nirmal Gujarat, AK Rakesh.
Earlier, officials involved in this campaign used to help co-ordinate BMWR, says a source in the urban department. According to a GPCB official, as part of the nirmal drive notices were issued to 13,000 medical centres in the state and were asked to comply under BMWR.
"On paper the system is foolproof, but without co-ordination we can't crack down on defaulters as this is healthcare and not industry," he says.
Sources in the health department agree that there are grey areas which could be the cause for leakage of waste into the market. "We can monitor and ensure compliance as per BMWR in government hospitals and facilities. But, private sector is a problem. Biomedical waste is a big toxic issue," says an official.