Gurgaon accounts for roughly one-third of Haryana's biomedical waste, according to the state pollution control board's annual report for 2024-25. The city produces 7,627 kilograms of biomedical waste every day, which is 33 percent of the state's total daily generation of 22,949 kilograms.
High Concentration of Healthcare Facilities
Nirmal Kashyap, head of the board's air cell, attributed the high proportion to the concentration of hospitals, diagnostic centres, and other healthcare facilities in the district. Haryana has about 7,733 healthcare facilities, including hospitals, clinics, and laboratories that generate biomedical waste during diagnosis, treatment, vaccinations, research, or testing.
Biomedical waste includes anatomical waste, solid waste, body fluids, expired medicines, thermometers, chemical waste, blades, and contaminated items such as plastic bags, bottles, pipes, and used needles and syringes.
Waste Segregation Rules
Under biomedical 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. Yellow bins collect anatomical waste, blue bins collect surgical tools and needles, red bins are for syringes and plastic waste, and black bins are for chemical waste.
Treatment Facilities and Distribution Challenges
Across Haryana, biomedical waste is processed through 11 common biomedical waste treatment facilities (CBMWTFs) — centralised plants where waste from multiple healthcare units is collected, treated, and disposed of. These facilities are located in Hisar, Sirsa, Gurgaon, Rohtak, Karnal, Jind, Bhiwani, Panchkula, Ambala, and Faridabad.
However, distribution remains uneven. Districts such 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. For instance, waste from Gurgaon is handled at the Manesar facility, which also serves neighbouring districts, increasing the load on the plant.
Compliance Gaps and Violations
The Haryana State Pollution Control Board report also highlights 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.
Kashyap added, "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."
