Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Oct 23: The bio-medical waste treatment plant in Govandi, eastern Mumbai, will continue operations as the Bombay High Court granted a 21-month extension to SMS Envoclean Private Limited to set up a new facility outside city limits.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Gautam Ankhad accepted the operator’s application seeking more time to commission a facility in Jambivali industrial area, Ambernath, Thane district. The court directed the company to pay Rs 2 lakh to a city-based school for blind children as compensation for the delay.

The bench noted that the postponement was due to unavailability of basic infrastructure such as road connectivity, electricity, and water supply at the new site, and not the company’s fault. The new facility was initially planned for Patalganga-Borivali, but the site was later changed to Ambernath, where population density is lower.

In August 2023, the high court had ordered SMS Envoclean to establish a new incinerator within two years and cease operations at the existing Govandi plant by September 2025. The company argued that infrastructure work at the new site is still ongoing, preventing timely commissioning.

Residents, represented by Advocate Zaman Ali, had raised concerns about air pollution and health hazards caused by the existing Govandi plant. The court, however, acknowledged that the company had obtained all statutory permissions for the Ambernath site.

“The delay in establishing the facility is evidently attributable to ongoing infrastructure development works at the site, which are beyond the control of the applicant company,” the court noted.

The bench modified the 2023 order, granting 21 additional months for the commissioning of the new incinerator facility. The move aims to balance environmental concerns with practical challenges of infrastructure development.