National Green Tribunal Flags 17 States for Illegal Biomedical Waste Disposal

Guwahati: The National Green Tribunal has put 17 states and territories on notice. Assam, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, and Mizoram face heat for dumping biomedical waste in deep burial pits. Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member Dr. Afroz Ahmad issued the order on August 5. They demanded the Central Pollution Control Board force these facilities to follow the law.

A recent compliance report paints a grim picture. It shows 9,178 healthcare sites still use deep burial methods. State boards checked 6,375 of those locations but found only 5,715 meeting official standards. Violations include 477 facilities failing groundwater protections and 341 sites lacking proper authorization. Others failed to secure pits against animals or neglected to cover waste with soil.

The CPCB must now fix these messes. If states do not clean up within eight weeks, they face strict penalties under Section 5 of the Environment Protection Act, 1986. The CPCB told the tribunal, "if the violations are not addressed within eight weeks, directions under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, could be issued against the defaulting states and healthcare facilities." The tribunal expects a fresh report one week before the October 28 hearing.