A lawyer and social activist representing residents of Govandi has sent legal notices to the state and central pollution control boards for failing to submit an action taken report as directed by National Green Tribunals (NGT) in its March 13 order. The NGT had constituted a joint committee to investigate violations by the SMS Envoclean plant as alleged by Govandi and Deonar residents. The committee, comprising members of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), and a district magistrate, was expected to submit an action taken report within two months.

The residents of Govandi and Deonar had moved the NGT against the state government in April 2022. In their petition, they alleged that tuberculosis (TB) among thousands of residents has been aggravated due to pollution from the biomedical waste treatment plant in the area. Forced to inhale “toxic” smoke released by the city’s lone biomedical waste treatment plant in Govandi and furious over the delay in relocating the plant (for almost two years), Govandi residents had petitioned the NGT for justice.