NGT directs CPCB to address biomedical waste disposal violations as Nagaland and five Northeast states face compliance concerns.
DIMAPUR — Nagaland is among six north-eastern states where healthcare facilities continue to use deep burial for biomedical waste disposal, with the National Green Tribunal (NGT) directing the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to ensure strict compliance with prescribed norms.
The six north-eastern states named in a CPCB compliance report placed before the tribunal are Nagaland, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya and Mizoram. The report covers 17 states and Union territories where healthcare facilities are using deep burial for biomedical waste disposal.
In its August 5 order, an NGT bench headed by Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member Dr Afroz Ahmad took note of violations of the Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016, and directed the CPCB to ensure corrective action.
According to the CPCB report, 9,178 healthcare facilities across the 17 states and UTs were using deep burial for biomedical waste. State Pollution Control Boards and Pollution Control Committees inspected 6,375 facilities, of which only 5,715 were found fully compliant with the prescribed norms.
The report flagged several deficiencies concerning the manner in which biomedical waste is buried and safeguards against environmental contamination.
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The most common violation involved groundwater protection, with deficiencies reported at 477 facilities. Other lapses included lack of authorisation for burial sites at 341 facilities, improper location of burial pits at 316 facilities, inadequate maintenance of records at 253 facilities, failure to prevent animal access at 229 facilities and improper covering of waste with soil at 216 facilities.
The CPCB informed the tribunal that communications had been issued to the respective State Pollution Control Boards and Pollution Control Committees, directing them to initiate corrective measures.
It further told the NGT that if compliance is not achieved within eight weeks, directions under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, would be issued against defaulting states and healthcare facilities.
The tribunal has directed the CPCB to submit a fresh compliance report at least one week before the next hearing, scheduled for October 28.
The CPCB report covers Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Ladakh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand.