India cannot be a dumping ground for junk, waste: Ramadoss

MUMBAI: Amidst the furore over the alleged export of bio-medical waste from the US to India in three containers detected in Kerala, the Union Health Minister said on Saturday he was still verifying the facts.
    
Anbumani Ramadoss said he had sought information from the Kerala government on the issue, adding if the incident was found to be true, they would take it up in a "big way".
    
"India cannot be a dumping ground for junk and waste. It is a very serious issue. If true, we will take it to the highest level," Ramadoss said.
    
However, the minister admitted he was not satisfied with the manner in which domestic bio-medical waste was being disposed.
    
"We need to do a lot more. We are co-ordinating with the Environment Ministry and are giving subsidies to joint bio-medical waste disposal units," Ramadoss said.
    
He said that there had been sucesses in some states regarding the bio-medical waste disposal units but they had "a long way to go in the matter".
    
Earlier this month, three containers with about 65 tonnes of wastes were found by Kerala Pollution Control Board (KPCB) officials to contain prohibited municipal wastes from New York including plastic and biodegradable substances as well as hospital wastes, sanitary pads and surgical gloves.
    
The KPCB had recommended to the Customs authorities that the shipments, which were supposed to contain waste paper meant for recycling, be sent back to the place of origin.
    
Last year, 12 containers of plastic waste shipped from the US were sent back.