The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has launched an investigation into the sale and disposal of biomedical waste at Kolkata’s RG Kar Medical College Hospital as part of a broader corruption case linked to the institution.
The hospital has been under scrutiny since the gruesome rape and murder of a 21-year-old doctor on August 9.
SNG Envirosolutions, a relatively unknown company, has reportedly handled up to 70 percent of biomedical waste from government hospitals across West Bengal, including RG Kar.
It does not have any waste treatment plants—potentially violating contract terms, according to an investigation by The Indian Express.
SNG Envirosolutions is owned by Kolkata businessman SP Singh.
It secured its contract in 2019 by collaborating with a Delhi-based firm that operated a treatment facility in Uttar Pradesh, the report said.
The company collected vast quantities of hospital waste at a daily rate of Rs 8-9 per bed, managing this operation for 44 months while relying on a subcontract with a competitor.
Notably, SNG conducted its business from a makeshift office located within the premises of a prominent Kolkata business family that invested in the company, the report added.
In June 2023, the West Bengal government terminated SNG's contract after the subcontractor withdrew. Shortly thereafter, SNG established its first treatment plant in the state and received a new contract.
SP Singh told Indian Express that the delays in establishing treatment plants happened due to challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
He claimed that his company incurred substantial losses while providing critical waste disposal services during this period.
The West Bengal Health Department issued a tender in February 2019 for hospital waste disposal, seeking bids from Common Bio-Medical Waste Treatment Facility (CBMWTF) operators across 13 zones in the state.
A joint venture between SP Singh’s SNG Mercantile and Delhi-based Spectrum Waste Solutions was awarded the contract for nine zones in November 2019.
The contract mandated daily collection and incineration of biomedical waste, along with the establishment of nine treatment plants within four months of obtaining environmental clearances.
Instead, SNG entered into an agreement with Hyderabad-based Medicare Environment Management, which had secured the contract for the remaining 30 percent of government hospital waste.
A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed in August 2022 challenged SNG’s contract, citing allegations of improper disposal of hospital waste in municipal dump sites. At that time, the state Health Department had issued four notices to SNG for failing to establish the required treatment plants.
In October 2022, the Health Department terminated SNG’s contract for non-compliance, but SNG promptly challenged this termination in the Calcutta High Court. On May 31, 2023, Medicare notified the Health Department of its decision to terminate its subcontract with SNG, resulting in the transfer of all zones previously assigned to SNG to Medicare.
SP Singh defended SNG’s operations, asserting that every waste bag is barcoded and can’t be tampered with.
As SNG withdrew from the waste management sector, work on its treatment plants progressed rapidly, with the first facility in Bankura receiving a ‘Consent to Operate’ certificate from the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) on June 30, 2023. WBPCB officials declined to comment on whether any actions were taken against SNG for previously operating without a license, as per The Indian Express. Moneycontrol could not independently verify the report.
On August 11, 2023, the Health Department reassigned several zones, including Bankura and Murshidabad, to SNG. However, Principal Secretary (Health) Nigam did not address questions concerning the delay in revoking SNG’s original contract or the factors considered when renewing its agreement.
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