At a time when controversy over alleged scams of biomedical wastes at R G Kar Hospital are making headlines, the Kolkata Municipal Corporation is considering plans to set up its own medical waste treatment plant for proper disposal of such wastes.

According to KMC mayor Firhad Hakim, there is a mammoth quantity of 193 kg medical waste generated per day, under the health department of the civic body. The medical waste is collected in plastic bags of different colours and is disposed of by private agencies. The disposal of this waste is done by government approved agencies for which some fees are also to be paid. The agency also collects the medical waste generated at urban primary health centres of the KMC. “Since the agencies are private concerns and there are complaints raised about proper disposal of medical wastes, I have instructed for setting up our own medical treatment plant,” informed Mr Hakim.

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The matter was highlighted in response to a query by councillor Biswarup Dey during the monthly meeting at KMC today. Mr Dey had asked about how much medical waste is collected by the KMC and what is it worth or whether there is some mechanism of separating the general solid waste from the medical waste and recycling of the same.

Replying to the queries, the mayor said that the solid waste management wing of the civic body opened a tender for the consultant agencies. The municipal corporation is planning to utilize the technology used by the agencies for setting up its own medical treatment plant. “If this is done, then the KMC could even generate some revenue by collecting and disposing of waste from other hospitals in the city,” pointed out Mr Hakim. “This would also enable proper disposal of medical wastes scientifically,” he added.

With similar assertions about the spot fine system by the solid waste management department, Ellora Saha, another councillor in the House, proposed a change in the mode of payment of the penalty amount. The councillor of ward 14 suggested replacing the present system of issuing money receipts for collecting the spot fine amounts with QR codes. Welcoming the proposal, the member-mayor-in-council for SWM, Debabrata Majumdar informed that the civic body would try to take help from its IT wing for implementing the online payment system.

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Moving a step ahead, the KMC is to present the building plan of 23 buildings at Bowbazar identified for reconstruction at the next meeting of the members-mayor-in-council on 27 September. The 23 buildings had been damaged beyond repair during the tunneling work of the East-West Metro at Bowbazar in 2019. Several owners and occupants of the affected buildings are waiting to return to their ancestral homes for the last five years.

Councillor of the area Biswarup Dey raised concerns over the return of the residents to their own houses. Mr Dey also requested the KMC authorities to expedite the process to enable the residents’ return to their houses.

Replying to the query, Mr Hakim informed that the building plan is to be tabled for discussion in the next MMIC meeting, scheduled to take place on 27 September.