National Green Tribunal
Suo Motu vs The State Of Kerala, Rep. By Chief ... on 29 March, 2022
Bench: K. Ramakrishnan, Satyagopal Korlapati
Item No.11:
BEFORE THE NATIONAL GREEN TRIBUNAL
SOUTHERN ZONE, CHENNAI
(Through Video Conference)
Original Application No. 43 of 2017 (SZ)
IN THE MATTER OF:
Suo Motu
The Tribunal on its own motion on the implementation of the
Bio Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016 in Kerala.
With
The State of Kerala and Ors.
...Respondent(s)
Date of hearing: 29.03.2022.
CORAM:
HON'BLE Mr. JUSTICE K. RAMAKRISHNAN, JUDICIAL MEMBER
HON'BLE Dr. SATYAGOPAL KORLAPATI, EXPERT MEMBER
For Applicant(s): Suo Motu by Court.
For Respondent(s): Mr. G. Vignesh represented
Mr. E.K. Kumaresan for R1 to R4.
Mrs. V.K. Rema Smrithi for R5.
Dr. S. Gopakumaran Nair, Senior Adv.
Along with Mr. S. Prasanth for R6.
Mr. Babu Joseph Karuvathazha for R7.
Mrs. Vidyalakshmi Vipin for R9.
Page 1 of 13
ORDER
1. As per order dated 25.01.2022, this Tribunal had considered the order passed on 17.11.2021 and extracted in Para (1) of the order and then, passed the following order:-
"2. The case was posted to 20.12.2021 for consideration of further report. Thereafter, the matter was adjourned from time to time by successive notification and lastly it was adjourned to 18.02.2022 by notification dated 19.01.2022.
3. Since, we have come across a newspaper report published in Malayala Manorama dated 17.01.2022 under the caption "Fire breaks out at IMA's biomedical waste plant at Kanjikode, the case has been suo motu advanced to today for consideration of the new paper report. It is seen from the report that a huge fire incident occurred in the Bio Medical facility run by 6th respondent that created huge havoc and took lot of time for putting of the fire as well.
4. We feel that it is necessary to ascertain the reasons for the fire incident and whether it was due to any negligence or non-compliance of the direction imposed in the consent or authorization granted or any inefficient method by which the collection and disposal has been done by them in that facility, whether there was any damage caused to environment on account of the fumes that were emitted on account of fire and what is the nature of action taken by Kerala Pollution Control Board in this regard. If there is any damage caused to environment, what is the nature of damage caused including the air pollution and other possible pollution and also considering the question as to whether on account of deposit of dust coming out of the fire, had affected any nearby water bodies and, if so, what is the quantum of compensation to be imposed on 6th respondent for the damage caused to environment and remedial measures to be taken by them to avoid such incidents in future.
5. 6th respondent is also directed to file their independent statement regarding the fire incident occurred in their Bio-medical disposal facility and also the remedial measures taken by them to avoid such incidents recurring in future.
6. Pollution Control Board as well as the 6th respondent are directed to file their respective report to this Tribunal on or before 18.02.2022, the date on which the case is originally listed for consideration.
7. Learned Counsel appearing for the 7th respondent and Pollution Control Board submitted that against the order passed by the Hon'ble High Court in W.P No. 1290 of 2021 and W.P. No.1303/2021 disposed of by common Judgement dated 22.11.2021, an appeal has been filed before the Page 2 of 13 Hon'ble Apex Court and the Learned Counsel appearing for 7th respondent submitted that yesterday status quo order has been passed by Hon'ble Apex Court in the appeal filed by some hospitals against the order cancelling the authorisation given to them due to certain violations found. Since, orders are not before us, we are not passing any further orders in this regard. Parties are directed to produce the order of Hon'ble Supreme Court in this regard.
8. In the meantime, 6th respondent as well as Pollution Control Board are directed to file their report regarding the fire incident as directed by this Tribunal on or before 18.02.2022 by e-filing in the form of Searchable PDF/OCR Supportable PDF and not in the form of Image PDF along with necessary hardcopies to be produced as per Rules.
9. Registry is directed to communicate this order to the official respondents including the 6th respondent as they are not represented by any counsel today for their information and compliance of the direction."
2. The case was originally posted to 18.02.2022 for consideration of further reports and also the report in respect of the fire incident recently occurred in the 6th Respondent Bio Medical Waste Facility at Palakkad. Thereafter, the matter has been adjourned from time to time by successive notifications and lastly, it was adjourned to today by notification dated 09.03.2022.
3. We have received the statement submitted by the 6th Respondent dated 15.02.2022, e-filed on the same date, in respect of the fire incident which was referred to in the earlier order viz., 25.01.2022 which reads as follows:-
"STATEMENT FILED BY THE 6TH RESPONDENT IMAGE PURSUANT TO THE DIRECTION DATED 25.01.2022 ISSUED BY THIS HON'BLE TRIBUNAL
1. I am the Secretary of IMAGE, 6th respondent in the O.A. I have gone through the order dated 25.01.2022 issued by this Hon'ble Tribunal.Page 3 of 13
The statement is filed in compliance with the direction contained in para No.5 the said order, directing the IMAGE to file "an independent statement regarding the fire incident occurred in their biomedical waste disposal facility and also the remedial measures taken by them to avoid such incidents recurring in future."
2. It is true that a fire incident occurred in IMAGE premises on 16.01.2022. On the said day IMAGE plant was working as usual. There were total 137 workers inside the plant on that day. A fire accident happened in the plant at around 10.00 a.m. on that date. The fire started in the scrap sorting-cum-bottle processing shed behind Plant No.III, which later spread to the Barcode Processing-cum-Waste Unloading area situated on the right side of the Bottle Processing-cum-Scrap Sorting Shed. In the Scrap Sorting Shed both partially treated and untreated waste along with some processed scrap were kept.
3. At around 9.30 a.m. one of the Supervisors working in the bottle processing shed saw some smoke arising from the partially processed scrap kept behind the bottle processing shed and immediately alerted the maintenance team, the plant supervisor Shri Mohandas and other labourers working inside the plant. Immediately the labourers and maintenance team reached near the bottle processing shed and started to extinguish the fire. They did this by pumping water initially with hose pipe and later by utilizing the Fire Hydrant System installed at various locations near the fire originated area.
4. The heavy wind in the plant area has led the fire to spread at a rapid pace all through the processed scrap and dry shrubs nearby the Barcode Processing yard, where partially treated waste, processed scrap and untreated waste were stored temporarily. This pre-engineered building structure with around 16500 sq.ft. area was built in the year 2018-19 for the purpose of barcode processing of the received waste and also for storage of the processed scrap.
5. At around 10.30 a.m. the Plant-in-charge alerted the Kanjikode Fire Station over the telephone. By 11.30 a.m. the officials from Kanjikode Fire Station along with one Fire Engine reached the plant. Due to the railway gate closed on their way little delay happened at their arrival at the plant. The fire officials started extinguishing the fire with the help of Page 4 of 13 available workers in the plant. By the time the barcode yard building also started getting fire. The fire brigade arranged 5 more fire engines from the nearby Fire Stations. Around 80 professional fire fighting staff along with the dedicated labourers in the premises continued their efforts till the fire came under complete control, thus preventing the fire being spread to other adjacent buildings. In addition to the water in the fire fighting engines additional continuous supply of water was ensured from the rain water harvesting pond at the plant.
6. The Fire and Rescue Department officials were at the site continuously for three days monitoring the fire affected area. The District PCB Officials also reached the plant immediately and placed Ambient Air Quality Monitoring System for ambient air monitoring purpose. Though it took some time and effort to bring the fire under control there was no human casualty and no machinery or equipment of the unit has been damaged due to the fire. Many officials and socio-political leaders including the M.P. and M.L.A. visited the plant on the day of the fire. As per the request of the IMAGE Chairman and Secretary, Past Chairman Dr. C.K. Chandrasekhan, Vice Chairman, Dr.P.Rajagopalan Nair, Joint Secretary Dr. Velayudhan and District representative Dr. Rasitha Gireesh reached the plant by around 12.00 Noon and co-ordinated the fire fighting activities. By evening the present Chairman of IMAGE Dr. Abraham Varghese, IMA State President Dr. Samuel Koshy and IMAGE Secretary Dr. Sharfudheen had reached the plant from various distant places in the State.
7. On the next day i.e. 17.01.2022 two units of fire engines along with 15 persons from the Fire Rescue department stayed in the plant whole day, supported by the safety team of IMAGE. Official inspection by the Forest Department, Fire Department and Pollution Control Board took place on that date. As per the directions from the Fire Department the waste from the sides of the fire affected building were started removing so as to prevent the fire being spread to the adjacent areas. On 18.01.2022 inspections by the officials of KSPCB along with the Executive Engineer, Regional Office, PCB took place. They inquired about various details and informed about the testing of ambient air quality by special monitoring team posted by PCB. On 18th also two units of fire engines along with 15 employees from the Fire and Rescue Department stayed in the plant whole Page 5 of 13 day. On 19.01.2022 inspection by the Executive Engineer of KSPCB along with the officials of the Regional Office, PCB took place. Special air quality monitoring team reached the plant and installed the Ambient Air Quality Monitoring device at various sites at the IMAGE plant, Guest House and at houses at a distance from the plant.
8. On 19th a formal intimation about the fire incident was given to the Kasaba Police Station by the IMAGE authorities. On that day the Secretary of District Panchayath and some party leaders visited the plant. On the next day i.e. on 21.01.2022 a Surveyor deputed by the Insurance Company inspected the plant and took notes of the incident. Two units of fire engines were there in the premises on that day also. The District Forest Officer along with a team of Range Officers visited and inspected the fire affected areas of the plant. The inspection by the PCB officials took place at intervals on subsequent days also. It is respectfully submitted that despite the fact that it took a few days to control the fire completely, the functioning of the IMAGE plant has not been obstructed or interrupted for even a single day. The fire has not affected any machinery or equipment of the plant nor has damaged or destroyed any of the files, registers or records maintained in the plant. It is further submitted that as per the valuation/assessment as on today the fire has not caused any lasting damage to the surroundings or to the atmosphere or has caused any air or water pollution. If at all any damage has occurred it is only temporary as in the case of any other fire incident, which would be cured in no time.
9. Petitioner is given to understand that Police investigation is still going on as to the cause of the fire. IMAGE also is making their own efforts to find out the reason and source of the fire. Since the project site is surrounded on one side by natural forests, initially it was suspected that the fire must have emanated from the forest area and spread to the plant site. It was only a suspicion which had to be ruled out as IMAGE authorities could not gather any evidence or arrive at any conclusion in that regard. But one thing is certain that the possibility for the fire being caused by the negligence of the plant staff or the IMAGE authorities is far remote, as IMAGE has taken all care and caution against such incidents, and this is the first ever fire incident in the history of the IMAGE plant since its inception in 2003.It is respectfully submitted that IMAGE cannot be found fault with if they Page 6 of 13 suspect any mischief or sabotage behind the incident at this time by some vested interests since, of late, IMAGE has business rivals in the field, and there are lobbies which want to diminish the public reputation of IMAGE as the most effective and useful Common Biomedical Waste Treatment Facility (CBWTF) in the State. Therefore, there are now people who may want to create damaging impression about the functioning of IMAGE, that IMAGE has piled up backlog of untreated waste in their premises and the fire has emanated from this piled up waste. There may also be efforts to give an impression that the machineries and equipments of IMAGE have been damaged by the fire incident and hence IMAGE may not be able to handle and process the present quantity of biomedical waste which they are treating now, and therefore it may be shared with some other CBWTF in the State.
10. It is respectfully submitted that IMAGE has been absolutely serious and careful about the safety and security of its plant and premises, and they have taken all precautions and safeguards against such accidents, and this is precisely why no such incident has taken place in its premises during its existence from 2003 onwards. Hence it is respectfully submitted that even if any suspicion has been created from any corner putting the blame for the fire incident on the IMAGE it is completely misguided, unwarranted and unfortunate. With great respect we submit that IMAGE is not at all responsible for the fire incident, and assure this Hon'ble Tribunal that IMAGE will continue to have round the clock vigil and security for its plant and premises and also will discharge our moral, legal and corporate responsibility to the society and the surrounding public by protecting the environment to the best of their abilities. It is prayed that this statement may kindly be accepted.
Dated this the 15th day of February, 2022."
4. The Kerala State Pollution Control Board also filed a report dated 17.02.2022, e-filed on 20.02.2022 which reads as follows:-
"REPORT FILED BY THE ENVIRONMENTAL ENGINEER ON BEHALF OF KERALA STATE POLLUTION CONTROL BOARD
1) I, Mini Mary Sam, aged 54 years, W/o Ranjan Jacob, Page 7 of 13 Environmental Engineer do here by submit that I am authorised to represent the Kerala State Pollution Control Board, and that I am conversant with the facts of the above case and I may state as follows.
2) The Board Officers had conducted inspection at IMAGE plant on 19.04.2021, 13.05.2021 and 05.07.2021. During inspections, it was noticed that back log of yellow bags of waste was stored there. Necessary directions were issued to IMAGE based on these inspections to clear the backlog. The copies of directions are attached as Annexure 1 and 2.
In the context of accumulation of waste at IMAGE plant and the underutilized running of KEIL plant, with the advice of the Govt. the Board issued order dated 13.08.2021 bifurcating area between the two service providers to be made effective from 01.09.2021. Board Officers conducted inspection at IMAGE plant on 25.11.2021 and it was noticed during inspection that backlog of BMW remained there and hence direction was issued to process the same within 30 days. Copy of the instruction is attached as Annexure 3.
A major fire incident happened at the IMAGE plant on 16.01.2022 and BMW accumulated in the storage area caught fire. The Board Officers reached the site within an hour of the incident and started ambient monitoring utilizing in-house facility. Assistance of NIIST has also been sought for assessment of dioxins and furans.
The report of the Environmental Engineer, District office, Palakkad regarding the fire incident is attached as Annexure 4. In the light of the findings notice has been issued to IMAGE. Copy of the notice is attached as Annexure 5. The study of risk assessment and the analysis of dioxin/furans by NIIST is progressing . The damage assessment will be done based on the report of NIIST.
It is submitted that IMAGE and Private Hospital Association have approached various courts including the Apex Court against the order dated 13.08.2021 of the Board . If IMAGE and the Hospital authorities had followed the order with effect from 01.09.2021, this accumulation of waste could have been avoided.
The details of average BMW collection and disposal quantity received through e mail from IMAGE and KEIL for the last one week is furnished below:
Page 8 of 13 CBWTF Avg COVID Avg Non- Total BMW Consented
BMW TPD) COVIDBMW
disposed capacity
TPD
TPD TPD
IMAGE 9.3 43 52.3 55.8
KEIL 1.7 6 7.7 16
From the above, it can be seen that the % utilization of IMAGE is 93% whereas that of KEIL is 48%.
It is submitted that the plant of KEIL is running with underutilized capacity. It is a submitted that more number of CBWTFs with minimum capacities especially at the southern and northern districts of the state is the urgent need of the hour for effective management of bio-medical waste.
All that is stated above are true to the best of my knowledge information and belief.
Dated this 17th day of February 2022."
5. We have also received the report submitted by the Chairman, Kerala State Level Monitoring Committee dated 04.03.2022 and received on 09.03.2022, in respect of the fire incident referred to in the earlier order which reads as follows:-
"REPORT A major fire broke out on 16.1.2022 at M/S.IMAGE (Indian Medical Association Goes Eco-friendly) at Palakkad run by the Indian Medical Association (IMA).
Reportedly, the officials of the Kerala State Pollution Control Board reached the site within an hour of the incident. At that time, a storage shed filled with bio-medical waste was seen under fire and the Fire force was trying to put out the fire using hydrants. Though they could not prevent the spread of fire to other parts, the bio-medical waste materials kept in plastic bags were burning without any respite even after continuous effort. It was also reported that according to IMAGE the storage shed where the bio- medical waste stacked in plastic bags, caught fire from the bush fire broke out in the adjacent forest land. However, the reason was not categorically Page 9 of 13 established by the Department of Fire and Safety. Annexure-I series are the screen shots of the fire incidents.
The Environmental Engineer, KSPCB, District Office, Palakkad reported that the following were revealed on a detailed inspections after fire subsided.
1. The size of the storage shed which caught fire is 35m x 40m. The Bio-Medical Waste has been stacked inside the shed with an average height of 4.5m. Thus the total volume of the Bio-Medical Waste is 6300m3. The density of the Bio-Medical Waste was calculated using a vehicle and weigh bridge in the plant itself and it was obtained as 0.3 tons/m3. Based on this, total quantity of the Bio-Medical Waste which caught fire was estimated to be 2000 tons. Bio-Medical Waste was also stacked outside, abutting the building. It was reported by the IMAGE that the Bio-Medical Waste accumulated inside the building and abutting the building were being taken for incineration everyday and the backlog was being reduced day by day until the day of the fire incident.
2. The entire Bio-Medical Waste that caught fire is of Yellow type as per the Rules. During the peak Covid pandemic and continuing days, the Covid Bio-Medical Waste was given preference and it was being incinerated on the day itself. The non-Covid Bio-Medical Waste - Yellow - was being stacked like this.
3. Outside the sheds, near the autoclaving sheds, some stacks of autoclaved/disinfected Bio-Medical Waste could be seen exposed. These are Bio-Medical Waste packets taken out and stored after autoclaving. During the pandemic period, as well as after that, many hospitals were doing faulty segregation of Bio-Medical Waste. So even in red packets, many incinerable waste were coming. Such dry incinerable waste which came in red packets were autoclaved, separated manually, put in new packets and was being stored in this region. So these Bio-Medical Waste was also being taken day by day and the volume was getting reduced until the day of fire incident. Adjacent to that many autoclaved/recyclable waste also seen stocked.
IMAGE which is the first common waste management treatment facility (CBWTF) run by IMA has a consented capacity to treat 55.8 tonnes of bio-medical wastes per year. It has five incinerators, sufficient number of autoclaves, other processing equipments and an effluent treatment plant of Page 10 of 13 capacity 400 kilolitres per day. It receives Bi-Medical Waste from all over the State.
It is reported by the Environmental Engineer, KSPCB, District Office, Palakkad that the start of the first wave of Covid-19 in 2020 IMAGE started to receive considerably larger quantities of waste. The quality of the waste also changed drastically due to the presence of more percentage of synthetic materials in the Yellow bags, to be incinerated. This led to operational difficulties like break downs in the incinerators. Resultantly, the plant was unable to process its full capacity in those days. The situation continued during the 2nd wave of Covid-19 in 2021 resulting in huge backlog of waste to be incinerated. It is also reported that repeated instructions were given by KSPCB to clear the backlog. However, those directions could not evoke any positive response. IMAGE maintained the stand that the reason for the backlog is the excessive quantity of waste materials received.
Here it is apt to note that the second CBWTF in the State run by Kerala Enviro Infrastructure Limited (KEIL), Ambalamedu has been set up in the year 2021 and the Department of Health and Family Welfare to Government issued a directive on 3.5.2021 allotting the waste from Government Hospital in the District of Malappuram, Ernakulam and Pathanamthitta to the said CBWTF. Later, the Chairman, Kerala State Pollution Control Board issued orders on 13.8.2021 as under.
"Considering the above facts and as per Schedule III 8 (viii) of Rule 6 and 9 (3) of the Bio Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016, it is now decided to allot the waste of KEIL & IMAGE, the two service providers as follows:-
1. As per the guideline, KEIL shall operate their plant at Ambalamedu, Kochi by collecting bio medical waste from both private and government health care units within a radial distance of 75 Km from their facility. As implemented of this procedure based on radial distance would be difficult, it would be appropriate to allocate the full districts of Pathanamthitta, Alappuzha and Idukki along with Kottayam and Ernakulam to KEIL. Therefore KEIL shall collect and process BMW from both Govt. and Private health care units from the districts of Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam, Pathanamthitta and Idukki.Page 11 of 13
2. The rest of the bio-medical waste generated both from the government andprivate health care units of the districts of Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Thrissur, Malappuram, Palakkad, Wayanadu, Kozhikkod, Kannur and Kasargod shall be collected and processed by IMAGE in their facility at Palakkad."
Annexure-II(a) is the copy of the aforesaid order and Annexure-II(b) is the sketch showing the bifurcation.
However, Annexure-II(a) order was challenged by the IMA and few others before the Hon'ble High Court of Kerala in WP(C) No.17693 of 202 and WP(C) N0.18270 of 2021. The aforesaid writ petitions were dismissed by the Hon'ble High Court on 27.9.2021 without expressing any opinion on the merits of the contentions raised by the parties, reserving the liberty of the petitioners to raise their contentions before this Tribunal.
Though the said Judgment was challenged before the Division Bench in WA.No.1290 of 2021, the same was dismissed on 22.11.2021 on the same lines. It is learnt that the matter is now taken in appeal before the Hon'ble Supreme Court of India.
Had the bifurcation as proposed in Annexure-Il(a) order has been effected, the same would have helped in clearing the backlog at IMAGE, thereby preventing untoward incidents like the one now reported.
The aforesaid report is presented for the kind consideration of this Hon'ble Tribunal.
Dated this the 4th day of March 2022."
6. Dr. S. Gopakumaran Nair, the learned Senior Counsel appearing for the 6th Respondent along with Mr. S. Prasanth submitted that the Judgment of the Hon'ble High Court of Kerala has been challenged before the Hon'ble Apex Court and the same is coming for hearing on 05.04.2022 and wanted this case to be posted beyond that date, as if the Hon'ble Apex Court concurs with the observations made by the Page 12 of 13 Hon'ble High Court of Kerala, then this Tribunal will have to consider the bifurcation of the allotment of bio-medical waste as well independently.
7. In the meantime, if the 6th Respondent wants to file any objections to the report submitted by the State Pollution Control Board and also by the Chairman, Kerala State Level Monitoring Committee in respect of the fire incident, they are at liberty to file the same before the next hearing date by e-filing in the form of Searchable PDF/OCR Supportable PDF and not in the form of Image PDF along with necessary hardcopies to be produced as per Rules.
8. For filing objections (if any) to the reports, consideration of report and also for hearing, post on 19.04.2022.
Sd/-
Justice K. Ramakrishnan, JM Sd/-
Dr. Satyagopal Korlapati, EM O.A. No.43/2017 (SZ) 29th March 2022. Mn.
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