New Delhi: National Green Tribunal (NGT) has issued notices to Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and Directorate General of Health Services on a plea alleging multiple environmental violations at a common biomedical waste treatment facility along GT Karnal Road in north Delhi.The plea claimed that the plant was emitting black smoke, improperly disposing of ash and failing to properly handle biomedical waste.Filed by a local, Rahul Seherawat, the plea alleged that the facility is operating in the vicinity of residential areas, in violation of environmental norms. The plea referred to a show-cause notice issued by DPCC on April 10, 2026, which listed several violations at the facility. These included 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 DPCC notice also recorded fugitive emissions, including black fumes, from incinerator units, attributed to a faulty gas cooling system and absence of proper channelisation. The effluent treatment plant was non-functional, its inlet was choked and sludge was not being stored at a designated location. Sludge management records were also inconsistent with actual wastewater treated, while damaged containment bags resulted in spillage of biomedical waste at multiple locations, according to the plea.The applicant claimed that the facility was disposing of the ash in a municipal landfill without any verification of whether the ash contains hazardous heavy metals. “Referring to Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016, the counsel for the applicant has pointed that the ash from incineration of the waste is required to be disposed of in municipal landfill, if the toxic metals in incineration ash are within the regulatory quantities as defined under the Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008,” observed the NGT bench comprising chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member Afroz Ahmad in an order dated Aug 21.Claiming that the facility violated its conditions for environmental clearance, the applicant also alleged that it was operating three incinerators despite its environmental clearance permitting two.“The application raises substantial issues relating to compliance with environmental norms,” said the bench.It also issued notices to the facility’s operator, Commission for Air Quality Management, ministry of environment, forest and climate change, and Central Pollution Control Board.The matter will be next heard on Nov 4.
