Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Friday said the Maharashtra government and civic bodies must follow the guidelines of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for treatment and disposal of biomedical waste generated during diagnosis and quarantine of COVID-19 patients.
A bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Madhav Jamdar said, "It is the paramount duty of the state government to ensure that the life of every citizen is preserved and COVID-19 pandemic does not take any further toll."
The bench was dealing with a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by an activist Kishor Sohoni through his advocate Sadhana Kumar, raising concerns over biomedical waste such as used PPE kits being dumped on roads by the Kalyan Dombivali Municipal Corporation (KDMC).
On Friday, the state pollution control board told the judges that it has already issued notices to the KDMC and other authorities.
Having considered the facts, CJ Datta said, "The state government and all other stakeholders (civic bodies) are duty-bound and obligated to adhere to the guidelines issued by the CPCB on handling, treatment and disposal of waste generated during diagnosis and quarantine of COVID-19 patients."
