Cross-border waste dumping: NGT finds gaps in Keralam pollution control board’s report on treatment of biomedical waste

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The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has picked holes in the report by the Kerala State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB), which claimed that there are adequate treatment facilities for processing the biomedical waste generated in healthcare facilities across various districts.

The Southern Bench of the tribunal has asked the authorities to explain why the waste generated in Keralam had to be dumped in the border States if there are no gaps in the treatment capacity. The board has been told to submit a district-wise list of healthcare facilities found lacking in waste management as part of the proceedings in the case related to the illegal dumping of biomedical and mixed solid waste from Keralam at various locations across Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu in December 2024.

As per the data available with the board, the total biomedical waste generated in the State in 2025 was about 73.08 tonnes per day. The State currently has two operational Common Biomedical Waste Treatment and Disposal Facilities (CBWTFs) — Indian Medical Association Goes Eco-friendly (IMAGE) in Palakkad and Kerala Enviro Infrastructure Ltd. (KEIL) at Ambalamugal, Ernakulam.

About 72.4 tonnes per day of biomedical waste was treated through the common facilities in 2025. The installed treatment capacity of the two common facilities is about 71.8 tonnes per day and 24,390 healthcare facilities are utilising their services.

“Going by the above data, one has to presume that the State has got the required capacity proportional to the waste generated. If that is so, why the biomedical waste is being dumped in the border States is not addressed,” pointed out the Bench comprising Pushpa Sathyanarayana, Judicial Member, and Prashant Gargava, Expert Member, in its order dated September 21, 2026.

The tribunal, quoting the board’s report, said that 642 applications from healthcare facilities for receiving authorisation from the board under the Biomedical Waste Management Rules, 2016, are under consideration, while 73 applications have been returned seeking further clarifications. It is not known how the biomedical waste generated is being treated or disposed of by these healthcare facilities, the Bench observed.

Officials of the board said that they have sought an updated report from the Health department on the total number of healthcare facilities operating in the State. The information received will be compiled to get a proper evaluation of the treatment capacity and availability of the required facilities for biomedical waste management, they said.

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