AGNELO PEREIRA
THE GOAN | MAPUSA
As many as 820 healthcare facilities across the State are set to face show-cause notices for failing to submit their mandatory annual reports on biomedical waste management within the stipulated timeframe, exposing significant compliance gaps in the handling of hazardous healthcare waste in the State.
The Goa State Pollution Control Board (GSPCB), in its annual biomedical waste management report for 2025 submitted to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), has stated that it is in the process of issuing show-cause notices to the defaulting healthcare facilities.
The scale of the regulatory lapse comes against the backdrop of Goa generating 3,824.35 kgs of biomedical waste every day, including 3,415.33 kg from bedded hospitals and 409.02 kgs from non-bedded healthcare facilities.
The State has 83 bedded hospitals and nursing homes, 562 clinics and dispensaries, 107 pathological laboratories, 45 veterinary institutions, 15 AYUSH facilities, 11 research institutions and one blood bank, with a total of 5,478 beds.
The GSPCB report states that 397 healthcare occupiers applied for authorisation under the Biomedical Waste Management Rules during 2025. Of these, 264 were granted authorisation, while 36 applications remained under consideration due to pending fee payments, incomplete applications or clarifications/compliance requirements. As many as 94 applications were rejected.
The Board is also in the process of identifying additional healthcare facilities operating without the mandatory biomedical waste authorisation, in consultation with the Common Biomedical Waste Treatment Facility (CBWTF).
At present, the State has one common biomedical waste treatment facility, operated by Biotic Waste Solutions Pvt Ltd, which has been functioning since October 2021.
The facility treated 3,824.35 kgs of biomedical waste per day during 2025, of which 2,712.30 kgs per day was disposed of through authorised recyclers.
The report also reveals that 824 occupiers submitted their annual reports for the previous calendar year, while 1,264 occupiers conducted training related to biomedical waste management.
However, only 175 occupiers had constituted Biomedical Waste Management Committees.
There are currently no captive biomedical waste treatment facilities or operational captive incinerators in Goa.
Another compliance concern flagged by the GSPCB relates to the facility's continuous online emission monitoring system. While the CBWTF has installed the required system, the Board noted that it is yet to be connected to the GSPCB server.
The report further states that no biomedical waste workshops or training programmes were conducted by the Board during the year, while no occupiers were reported to be practising pre-treatment of laboratory microbiology and biotechnology waste.
The findings form part of Goa's annual compliance report submitted by GSPCB Member Secretary Dr Geeta Nagvenkar to the CPCB under the Biomedical Waste Management Rules.
