Staffers of Grant Medical College and JJ Group of Hospitals always ensure that they take part in the hospital's Swachh Bharat Abhiyan programme on the first and third Saturdays of every month. But they have failed to understand that in the process of protecting the environment, they are making it more toxic by burning the dry waste that is collected.

Burning of waste banned
A similar thing happened on the hospital premises on Saturday. Instead of converting the dry waste into compost or disposing it of in a scientific manner, the staffers dumped them at isolated pockets on the campus and burnt them in violation of the December 2016 National Green Tribunal order banning burning of garbage in the open. According to the ruling, it can also attract a fine of Rs 25,000, as it is a major source of pollution. Even the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016, prohibits burning of garbage in public spaces. According to sources at the hospital, this has become a regular phenomenon at the premises.