NGT issues notices over biomedical waste plant flouting green rules

NGT issues notices over biomedical waste plant

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued notices to the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and the Directorate General of Health Services in response to a plea filed by Rahul Seherawat alleging multiple environmental violations at a common biomedical waste treatment facility along GT Karnal Road in north Delhi.

According to The Times of India, the plea claimed the plant emitted black smoke, improperly disposed of ash, and failed to handle biomedical waste correctly. It also alleged the facility operates in the vicinity of residential areas, in violation of environmental norms.

The plea cited a DPCC show-cause notice dated April 10, 2026, listing violations including missing barcode labels on waste bags, improper segregation of biomedical waste, absence of a dedicated vehicle washing facility, and faulty pressure gauges in the autoclave system. The notice also recorded fugitive emissions, including black fumes from incinerators, attributed to a faulty gas cooling system and lack of proper channelisation.

The effluent treatment plant at the facility was reported non-functional, with a choked inlet and sludge not stored at a designated location. Sludge management records were inconsistent with actual wastewater treated, and damaged containment bags led to spillage of biomedical waste at multiple locations.

The applicant also claimed that incineration ash was being disposed of in a municipal landfill without verification of harmful heavy metals. The plea references the Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016, with the NGT bench noting that the counsel for the applicant pointed out that ash from incineration is to be disposed of in municipal landfills only if toxic metals are within regulatory quantities.

The NGT bench, headed by Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava, observed: 'The application raises substantial issues relating to compliance with environmental norms.' Notices were also issued to the facility operator, the Commission for Air Quality Management, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The matter is scheduled to be next heard on November 4.

CPCB compliance report flags violations

In a separate but related development, the CPCB submitted a compliance report dated August 20, 2026, before the NGT detailing the status of compliance with Environmental Clearance (EC) and Consent to Operate (CTO) conditions for an industrial unit. The report was considered by a Bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Expert Member Dr Afroz Ahmad on August 21.

According to ANI, the CPCB found that the unit was established before the enforcement of the EIA Notification, 2006, so the EC notification was not applicable. However, it found a violation concerning two exhaust pipes of the bag-filter suction blowers attached to the Clinker Loading Section.

The CPCB team inspected the unit on August 4 and August 7 but found the plant non-operational on both occasions. The status of housekeeping during operational conditions could not be ascertained, and certain pollution monitoring could not be carried out.

The report recorded that a Coal Based Hot Air Generator (HAG) and an old DG set, with associated components, were installed but not part of the CTO. Although the unit's representative stated the equipment had been abandoned, the CPCB found it had neither been dismantled nor removed, with heavy dust accumulating on the equipment.

On hazardous waste, the unit had obtained authorisation under the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016 only for used oil under Category 5.1. During inspection, it was generating empty barrels under Category 33.1 and cotton rags under Category 33.2 without authorisation.

The unit had installed a 750 kVA DG set with an acoustic enclosure, but its CTO renewal application mentioned a stack height of 30 metres while the actual stack height was approximately 10 metres. The sampling port on the DG set stack did not conform to CPCB guidelines for stack sampling facilities.

Also, the plant was not operational during inspections on August 4 and 7, and no intimation of breakdown or planned shutdown had been given to the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) as required.

Compliance measures and further proceedings

Despite the violations, the CPCB noted some compliance efforts. The unit had applied for a renewal of its CTO, incorporating details of the Hot Air Generator in the renewal application, though the furnace had not been included in the earlier CTO. It had also changed its fuel from coal to biomass, specifically paddy straw.

The unit was found to be handing over used DG-set oil to an authorised recycler and maintaining logbooks. Third-party NABL-accredited laboratory reports with the unit indicated compliance with prescribed limits for the process stack, DG set, and STP. The CPCB could not independently conduct monitoring because the plant was shut down.

Because the unit operated a dry process, no Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) was installed. Domestic wastewater from the unit was treated through a 150 KLD Sewage Treatment Plant in the residential colony. Rice husk was stored in a covered shed for fuel in the HAG, and no new air-polluting processes or machinery had been added that would increase the water pollution load.

The CPCB sought additional time to standardise the methodology for sampling and analysis of Aluminium, Iron, and Silica in ambient air. The CPCB told the Tribunal that standardisation could take another eight weeks and requested 10 weeks to complete the methodology, collect fresh samples, and analyse these parameters. The NGT allowed the request and scheduled the next hearing for November 17, 2026.

The NGT also directed its office to verify and place on record an additional reply filed by the HSPCB after its counsel said defects had been cured. The CPCB report noted that action was to be taken by the HSPCB on the CTO violations, including the possibility that the CTO could become invalid if conditions were not met.

The tribunal has given time for the CPCB to refine its sampling methodologies, a step that may determine the next phase of enforcement.