The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to ensure strict compliance with biomedical waste disposal norms after a nationwide review found widespread violations, including in six North Eastern states, including Nagaland. A CPCB compliance report placed before the tribunal revealed that healthcare facilities in these states continue to use deep burial for biomedical waste disposal, in contravention of the Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016.
The report identified 17 states and Union Territories, including Nagaland, where healthcare facilities are violating biomedical waste disposal norms. The other states in the North East region that have been flagged for these violations are Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, and Mizoram. The CPCB report found that 9,178 healthcare facilities across these states and UTs were using deep burial for biomedical waste disposal, with only 5,715 facilities found to be fully compliant with all prescribed norms.
The most common violation related to groundwater protection, with deficiencies found at 477 facilities. Other violations included lack of authorisation for burial sites at 341 facilities, improper location of pits to prevent contamination at 316 facilities, inadequate record maintenance at 253 facilities, failure to prevent animal access at 229 facilities, and improper covering of waste with soil at 216 facilities.
The Central Pollution Control Board has informed the National Green Tribunal that communications have been issued to the concerned pollution control authorities, directing them to take corrective action. The pollution watchdog has warned 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 National Green Tribunal has directed the CPCB to file a fresh compliance report at least one week before the next hearing on October 28. The states and Union Territories covered in the CPCB report are 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.
