SURAJ NANDREKAR
suraj@herald-goa.com
PANJIM: In what could be termed as a scam, it has been revealed how documents have been manipulated to get a contract in their favour.
Worse, one government authority has not even bothered to check the authenticity of the permission granted by another government agency.
Documents accessed by Herald indicate a major
manipulation by which contractor Goa Health Monitoring Services (GHMS) entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Health Department for operation of bio-medical waste management plant at Goa Medical College and Hospital, Bambolim.
The documents show that GSPCB, vide letter dated No 13/388/17-PCB/Tech/ 132 dated 04/04/2017 has given authorisation to GHMS to operate a facility for generation, collection, reception, treatment, storage, transport and disposal of bio-medical wastes.
GHMS has been granted permission for handling medical waste in following categories: Yellow waste 106.50 kg/month, Red 32 kg/month and White (translucent) 2.5 kg/ month.
However, in the file for signing the MoU with the Public Health department, the GSPCB permission with same no and date has been found to have been manipulated. Instead of Yellow waste at 106.50 kg/month, Red 32 kg/month and White (translucent) 2.5 kg/ month as per original order, all has been changed to Yellow waste 106.50 kg/day, Red 32 kg/day and white (translucent) 2.5 kg/ day.
“This is one of a major manipulation. GHMS has been handling bio-medical waste of about 630 units throughout Goa charging huge fees,” said social activist Arturo D’Souza, who has been fighting the case of bio-medical waste, told Herald.
He continued, “By manipulation the operator has been able to handle more waste. The facility at the GMC does not have such a capacity to handle bio-medical waste,” he stated, adding, “The capacity at GMC can handle only 60 kg/hour but now they are handling around 1 tonne per day.”
D’Souza further said the information given under RTI by the Health Department also does not even make it clear whether the MoU has been signed or the operator is just doing it.
Sources in the GMC told Herald that the operator GHMS is not paying any amount or fees to the hospital but handling its waste free-of cost.
For a year now, GHMS, a firm authorised by GSPCB for managing bio-medical waste, has been collecting it from around hospitals, dentists, pathology labs, veterinary hospitals, and general practitioners.
All incinerable waste is taken to the GMC while non-incinerable waste is recycled at the bio-medical waste management facility at a private hospital in Dona Paula.
As per sources, the hospitals pay approximately Rs 10 per day per bed, pathology labs Rs 2,000 per month, dentists Rs 1,500 per month and general practitioners around Rs 1,000 to GHMS for the management of their waste.
