Gurgaon: Roughly one out of every 3 kg of biomedical waste in Haryana comes from Gurgaon. According to the state pollution control board’s annual submission for 2024-25, the city produced 7,627 kg of biomedical waste every day, which accounts for 33% of the state’s total of 22,949 kg per day.The proportion is high because of the concentration of hospitals, diagnostic centres and healthcare facilities in the district, said Nirmal Kashyap, head of the board’s air cell.The state has about 7,733 healthcare facilities, including hospitals, clinics and laboratories that generate biomedical waste during diagnosis, treatment, vaccinations, research or testing. Anatomical waste, solid waste, body fluids, expired medicines, thermometers, chemical waste, blades, contaminated waste like plastic bags, bottles, pipes, and used needles and syringes fall under the category.According to waste management rules, all healthcare units must label bags or containers containing biomedical waste and maintain four colour-coded dustbins (green, red, blue and black) for its disposal. The yellow bins collect anatomical waste, blue bins collect surgical tools and needles, red bins are for syringes and plastic waste, while black bins are for chemical waste.Across the state, biomedical waste is processed through 11 common biomedical waste treatment facilities — centralised plants where waste from multiple healthcare units is collected, treated and disposed of.These facilities are in Hisar, Sirsa, Gurgaon, Rohtak, Karnal, Jind, Bhiwani, Panchkula, Ambala and Faridabad. However, distribution remains uneven as Rewari, Jhajjar, Sonipat, Panipat, Palwal, Nuh, Yamunanagar and Kurukshetra do not have their own treatment plants and rely on facilities in other districts for waste processing.Although the number of facilities broadly aligns with waste generation norms, the dependence of multiple districts on a few units raises concerns over waste transportation, handling risks and operational pressure. For instance, in Gurgaon, waste is handled at the Manesar facility, which also serves neighbouring districts, increasing the load on the plants.The Haryana State Pollution Control Board report also flags compliance gaps. At least 236 healthcare facilities are operating without authorisation under biomedical waste rules, while 165 are operating despite their applications having been rejected. So far, 6,154 units have been approved for handling biomedical waste.Despite 236 violations, no show-cause notices or directions were issued to the facilities during 2024-25. Officials said 5,895 facilities submitted annual reports, 611 installed liquid waste treatment systems, and more than 200 training workshops were conducted for better handling of biomedical waste.“The state has authorised CBMWTFs to scientifically collect, transport and dispose of such waste as per biomedical waste management rules. Certain incidents of biomedical waste getting mixed with other waste were reported, and efforts are underway to strengthen monitoring, ensure segregation at source and improve treatment coverage in districts that currently do not have dedicated facilities,” added the board’s Kashyap.
