Civil society groups urge Centre to revoke deregulation of toxic waste-to-energy plants

By A Representative  

The National Alliance for Climate and Ecological Justice (NACEJ), a pan-Indian forum of the National Alliance of People’s Movements (NAPM), has issued an urgent appeal to the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), calling for the immediate withdrawal of recent decisions deregulating Waste-to-Energy (WTE) incinerators. In a letter dated November 10, 2025, the alliance expressed “immense concern” over the government’s move to exempt WTE plants from prior environmental clearance under the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) Notification, 2006, and to downgrade them from the “Red” to the “Blue” pollution category.

NACEJ described the decisions as “anti-people and anti-ecology,” warning that they could endanger public health, worsen pollution, and threaten the livelihoods of millions of informal waste workers. The letter, endorsed by prominent environmentalists, scientists, and activists including Medha Patkar, Soumya Dutta, and Dr. Babu Rao, argued that the deregulation of incinerators will “exacerbate environmental pollution, climate impacts, and adversely affect the livelihoods of millions of waste workers across the country.”

The alliance noted that the draft notification issued by the ministry on October 3, 2025, seeks to exempt Common Municipal Solid Waste Management Facilities — including WTE incinerators — from prior environmental clearance. Simultaneously, the CPCB’s reclassification of WTE plants as “Blue” under the guise of “essential environmental services” was described as misleading and contrary to its own inspection findings, which had detected high levels of toxic heavy metals and chemicals in the ash and leachate from Delhi’s WTE plants. “None of the 21 existing WTE plants comply with the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016,” NACEJ asserted, citing CPCB reports to the National Green Tribunal.

The letter said the ministry’s exemption ignored an earlier clarification by the Expert Advisory Committee that landfills under CMSWMFs require environmental clearance. It argued that the move undermines monitoring under the Water and Air Acts and weakens the circular economy principles outlined in the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. “Instead of promoting segregation, composting, and recycling, the government is greenwashing incineration as ‘waste-to-wealth’,” the alliance wrote.

NACEJ warned that the deregulation could have multiple consequences: higher public health risks due to toxic emissions like dioxins, furans, and heavy metals; loss of livelihoods for over four million waste workers whose recyclables would be diverted to incinerators; financial inefficiency, as WTE electricity costs more than double that of solar or wind; and rising climate emissions. The letter highlighted that burning a ton of waste emits about 1.7 tons of CO₂, with Delhi’s four WTE plants alone producing emissions equivalent to 30 lakh passenger cars.

The alliance also questioned the fairness of the public consultation process, noting that over 75 percent of the participants represented industry interests, while less than one percent were from environmental or workers’ groups. “The government seems unwilling to recognize the lop-sided representation in such consultations, which form the basis of decisions with far-reaching impacts,” the letter said.

Calling the reclassification and deregulation “a path of dangerous deregulation,” NACEJ urged the government to withdraw the October 2025 notification and restore prior environmental clearance requirements for all municipal solid waste facilities. It demanded the reclassification of WTEs back to the Red category, the removal of their “renewable energy” status and subsidies, and the commissioning of independent studies on their health and environmental impacts.

NACEJ emphasized that real solutions lie in “circular and decentralized waste management systems” such as source segregation, composting, recycling, and reduction in single-use plastics. “Waste management must serve people and the planet, not polluters and profiteers,” the alliance stated, urging the MoEF&CC, CPCB, and Parliament to act in accordance with scientific evidence and constitutional responsibility.

The appeal was signed by 27 representatives from across India, including grassroots activists, researchers, and environmental experts, underscoring the growing national concern over what the alliance called a “toxic and unjust” shift in waste management policy.