High Court Extends Deadline for Bio-Medical Waste Plant Relocation

The Bombay High Court has granted a 21-month extension to a bio-medical waste processing plant in the Mumbai suburb of Govandi, giving the operator, SMS Envoclean Private Limited, more time to set up a new facility outside the city limits. The decision was made following the company's appeal, which highlighted delays caused by underdeveloped infrastructure at the new site in Thane district.

Despite the extension, the court ordered the company to pay Rs 2 lakh to a school for blind children to compensate for their delay. The bench, consisting of Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad, acknowledged that the delays were due to unfinished infrastructure like road connectivity, electricity, and water supply at the new site.

Govandi residents, who had previously initiated a public interest litigation because of pollution concerns, raised alarms over the delay's impact on air quality. Nevertheless, the court extended the deadline to September 2025, with hopes that the required facilities will soon be completed at the new Ambernath location.