Failure to dispose of medical waste as per the new rules will attract a jail term of five years or a fine of Rs 1 lakh or both, the Delhi government said on Friday.

The Biomedical Waste (Management & Handling) Rules, 1998, has been superseded by the Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016.Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, inaugurating a workshop on implementation of Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016, stressed on the need for creating awareness about the rule and added that healthcare facilities, including hospitals, nursing homes and clinics, should be sensitised on the matter.The new rule covers all persons who generate, collect, receive, store, transport, treat, dispose, or handle biomedical waste in any form.

As per the new rules, laboratory waste, microbiological waste, blood samples and blood bags should be pre-treated through disinfection or sterilisation on-site as prescribed by World Health Organization or the National Aids Control Organisation (NACO), according to a government statement.Also, all healthcare facilities should display their authorisation issued by Delhi Pollution Control Committee so that public can verity it.Failure to comply with provisions of the rule will attract penal action as per provisions of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, which includes imprisonment of five years or a fine of Rs 1 lakh or both, it said.