The bio-medical waste plant in suburban Govandi in eastern Mumbai will continue to operate as the Bombay High Court has granted a 21-month extension to set up a new facility outside the city limits, reported news agency PTI.
In an order passed last week, a bench of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad accepted the application filed by the operator, SMS Envoclean Private Limited, seeking extension of the deadline to set up the new facility in neighbouring Thane district, reported PTI.
The court, however, directed the company to pay Rs 2 lakh to a city-based school for blind children for the delay, reported PTI.
The bench noted that the delay in setting up the new incinerator was not because of the company but due to the unavailability of basic infrastructure facilities.
In August 2023, the high court had directed the company to commission a new facility to treat bio-medical waste within two years and then stop work at the present incineration plant in Govandi.
Initially, the new facility was to come up at Patalganga-Borivali, but it was later decided to be commissioned at the Jambivali industrial area in Ambernath in Thane district, where there is less human population.
Seeking an extension of the deadline, the company said in its application that there was no delay on its part, but basic infrastructure facilities such as road connectivity, electricity and water supply are yet to be completed at the new site, reported PTI.
Advocate Zaman Ali, appearing for Govandi residents who had initially filed a public interest litigation against the existing incinerator, said the delay in shifting the plant was causing grave inconvenience due to air pollution, reported PTI.
The court noted that the company has obtained all statutory permissions to commission the facility at the Jambivali industrial area, but was unable to do so due to lack of requisite infrastructure there, reported PTI.
“The delay in establishing the facility is evidently attributable to the ongoing infrastructure development works at the site, which are beyond the control of the applicant company,” the court said, reported PTI.
The bench modified the 2023 order and extended the period for commissioning of the incinerator facility in Ambernath for 21 months.
In 2022, the Govandi New Sangam Welfare Society had sought in its plea that the bio-medical waste treatment facility be shifted out of Mumbai`s limits as it was causing pollution, leading to health hazards.
Subsequently, the high court had directed the company to establish a new incinerator facility within two years (September 2025) at an alternate location.
(With inputs from PTI)
