Look into Envoclean operations, pollution board tells Maharashtra

Govandi and Deonar residents claimed that the biomedical waste treatment facility is causing TB and asthma

Looking into repeated complaints from residents of Govandi and Deonar, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has written to the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), directing them to investigate pollution levels at the SMS Envoclean biomedical plant and submit an action taken report.

In their complaint, locals have alleged that the smoke being spewed by the plant that burns down the city’s biomedical waste, is aggravating tuberculosis, asthma and other health complications among thousands of residents.

In a letter to the member secretary of MPCB, the director and head of the waste management division of CPCB VP Yadav said that the matter should be examined at the earliest and appropriate action should be taken. CPCB has also directed the MPCB to submit an action taken report of the same.

SMS Envoclean Private Limited, which is located in Govandi (East), is Mumbai’s only biomedical waste treatment facility appointed by the BMC on a build, own, operate and transfer (BOOT) basis for 20 years.

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Govandi is known for the 132-hectare Deonar dumping ground, which is in the backyard of thickly populated shanties with a warren of narrow bylanes. A part of the M-East Ward, this section is the poorest part of the city and was one of the worst hit by Covid-19. It covers over 250 slum pockets. 

The Deonar dumping ground alone processes around 2,500 tonnes of garbage every day. SMS Envoclean company is located a few kilometres away and has been authorised by the BMC and the MSPCB to treat biomedical waste since 2009.

Every day, several trucks from various quarantine and medical facilities come to the area to dispose of the biomedical waste, which if not treated properly, could pose a health hazard. This is why the contractor was told by MPCB in 2020 to boost its scrubber technology and reduce black smoke emitted from its chimney after burning the biomedical waste.

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