RAWALPINDI, Feb 3: The Punjab Environment Protection Agency (Punjab-EPA) has served notices on 56 hospitals and clinics, both government and private, for polluting environment through improper disposal of waste.

The representatives of the hospitals have been called to Lahore on February 7 to clear their positions on their failure to adopt proper waste disposal system.

The public sector hospitals served with notices are: Military Hospital, Combined Military Hospital, Armed Forces Institute of Cardiology, Cantonment General Hospital, Social Security Hospital, Leprosy Hospital, Fauji Foundation Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Government T.B. Hospital and Wapda Hospital.

The private hospitals and clinics included Hameed Medical Centre, Thyroid Clinic, United Medical Centre, Mayo Homeo Hospital, Nawaz Hospital, Pak-China Kidney Centre, Healers Centre, Ayub Medical Centre, Bakht Medical Centre, Batool Hospital, Bilal Hospital, Hayat Wali Medical Centre, Anwer Miraj Medical Centre, Amin Medical Centre, Al-Razzi Hospital, Al-Shifa Trust Eye Hospital, Kidney Centre, Cantt Medical Complex, Hassan Clinic, Chinese Hospital, Amanat Eye Hospital, Rizwan Nursing Home, Suffolk Hospital, Mazhar Eye Hospital, Naeem Clinic, Jinnah Memorial Hospital, Kashmir Medical Centre, Hearts International Hospital, Harley Hospital, Awan Medical Centre, Fatima Hospital, Pain Clinic, Mobarik Nursing Home, Rizwan Nursing Home, Rashid Nursing Home, Qureshi Medical Centre, Zohra Nursing Home, Nisar Nursing Home, Talat Nursing Home, PMA Trust Hospital, Khalid Clinic, Hakim Clinic, Margallah Welfare Hospital and Pirwadhai Hospital.

District Officer (environment) Shaukat Hayat said the environment agency had launched a survey of the hospitals on public complaints that they were not adopting proper waste disposal system.

He said the hospitals were disposing of their waste in solid forms which posed serious threat to public health. Due to improper disposal, the recycling business of syringes and other material has also flourished, the official added.

He said the managements of the hospitals were asked to appear before Punjab EPA Director Planning and Coordination Shahid Hasan who will conduct an inquiry into the matter under Section 16 of the Environment Protection Act 1997. If they failed to comply with the directive, their cases would be sent to the environment tribunal.

When asked about the total number of private hospitals, he said there was no data available neither with the Punjab-EPA nor the health department.

He said two incinerators were working at Holy Family Hospital and Attock Oil Refinery at Morgah and some private and government hospitals were utilising them.

When contacted, Holy Family Hospital officials said an incinerator worth Rs20 million was installed in the hospital but it was not being fully utilised by the private sector. They said the District Headquarters Hospital, Benazir Bhutto Hospital, Holy Family Hospital, Bilal Hospital; Nuri Hospital, Family Hospital, Islamabad, and Railway Hospital and Ali Medical Centre, Gujar Khan, were sending their waste to the incinerator.