Government Updates on Hazardous Waste Management and Contaminated Site Remediation
Desk Report, July 29, 2024: The Government of India has implemented the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) (HOWM) Rules, 2016, superseding the Hazardous Wastes (Management, Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008. This legislation, enacted under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, aims to ensure the safe storage, treatment, and disposal of hazardous wastes, minimizing adverse impacts on the environment and human health.
The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has issued comprehensive technical guidelines for hazardous waste management, which are accessible on their website at CPCB Technical Guidelines. Additionally, CPCB has developed 102 Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for 71 categories of hazardous waste to facilitate their utilization as resources. These SOPs are available at CPCB SOPs.
Between 2018 and 2024, CPCB received proposals from eight State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs) and Pollution Control Committees (PCCs) regarding 283 defaulting units. The distribution of these defaulting units by state is as follows:
– Chhattisgarh: 16 units
– Gujarat: 17 units
– Haryana: 2 units
– Karnataka: 4 units
– Maharashtra: 238 units
– Odisha: 2 units
– Puducherry: 1 unit
– Tamil Nadu: 3 units
In total, 283 defaulting units have been reported.
The CPCB also identifies 127 contaminated sites across the country. The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has allocated funds for preparing Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) for the remediation of 19 of these sites. MoEF&CC has released a guidance document for the assessment and remediation of contaminated sites, complemented by a CPCB reference document on the identification, inspection, and assessment of such sites. Additionally, state governments have commenced remediation efforts on 13 contaminated sites.
This information was disclosed by the Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Kirti Vardhan Singh, in a written reply to the Lok Sabha.
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