PIL challenges tender document for setting up 2 Common Bio-Medical Waste Treatment Facilities in Delhi

New Delhi [India], October 7 : A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was moved in Delhi High Court challenging the tender document which was issued by the Delhi Government through the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) for the purposes of "setting up and operating" two Common Bio-Medical Waste Treatment Facilities (CBWFTFs) in East, North East and Shahdara districts of the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi and West, Southwest and Central districts of NCT of Delhi.
The Bench of Justice DN Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh on Thursday issued notice to respondents including the Union of India and Delhi Government in the matter and slated the matter for hearing on November 30, 2021.
The petition moved by the International Human Rights Council, claiming to be a charitable trust, through Advocate Suren Uppal states that the terms and conditions of the aforesaid tender document are riddled with illegality and in its very nature is arbitrary and the setting up of such Common Bio-Medical Waste Treatment Facilities in NCT of Delhi is in grave contravention to the Bio-Medical Waste Management, Rules, 2016, guidelines issued by the Central Pollution Control Board, and the Government Procurement norms.
The petition stated that a CBWTF is a set-up where biomedical waste which is generated from health care facilities is imparted necessary treatment to reduce adverse effects that this waste may pose on human health and the environment.
The treated recyclable waste may finally be sent for disposal in a secured landfill or for recycling. With the objective of ensuring environmentally sound disposal of biomedical wastes in a much more effective manner, the Union of India issued the Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016 which were notified on the 28th March 2016, the plea stated.
The plea further submitted that the tender seeking proposals from operators for setting up Common Bio-Medical Waste Treatment Facilities are clearly in violation since the aforesaid rules in unequivocal terms state that the land for development of Bio-Medical Waste Treatment Facility has to be provided by the State Department in the business allocation of land assignment, i.e. the Municipal Authorities.
However, in the present case, the tender requires that the land has to be provided by the operators who are submitting their bids. In fact, at the time of submitting the tenders, the bidders are required to provide proof that the land is possessed by the said bidder, the plea read.
"The tender is clearly in contravention to the Bio-Medical Waste Management and Handling Rules, 2016, which are statutory rules. The very purpose of Rule 17 of Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016 which provides that the land has to be mandatorily provided by the State Government, is to ensure that the land is strictly in compliance with the Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, pollution norms and strictly comply with all the environmental clearances, as the functioning of CBMWTF is a heavy-duty facility which needs to strictly comply with environment protection norms for safeguarding the climate change," said the plea.
On one hand, the Centre said that Bio-Medical Waste Treatment Facility needs to be set up in the industrial area and on the other hand, usually industrial workers tend to stay nearby such industrial areas in a make-shift arrangement, plea read.
Similarly, a buffer zone of 500 m from the facility to any sensitive/residential area needs to be maintained throughout. Thus, for maintaining balance, it is essential that the land should be provided from the State itself for ensuring compliance to all such requirements, it further said.