NGT flags health risks of asbestos, seeks government decision on school use

By A Representative 

India’s National Green Tribunal (NGT) on October 30, 2025, delivered a significant judgment on the continued use of asbestos cement roofing sheets in schools, directing the Union government to review scientific evidence and global best practices before taking a policy decision on permitting or minimising such use.

The judgment was delivered in an application filed in April 2023 seeking a phased ban on asbestos use in schools across the country. The respondents in the case included the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, and the Ministry of Education. During the proceedings, the Fibre Cement Products Manufacturers Association was added as the fourth respondent. The Ministry of Education had earlier directed centrally run schools such as Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas to discontinue asbestos use and replace existing asbestos roofs.

In its ruling, the Tribunal took note of the admission by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change that asbestos can enter air, water and soil during the weathering, renovation or demolition of asbestos-containing products, exposing people through inhalation of airborne fibres. The NGT reaffirmed that there is no safe level of asbestos exposure, relying on the findings of its own expert committee, its earlier judgment in a related case, and international scientific assessments, including Environmental Health Criteria 203 on chrysotile asbestos.

The Tribunal also recognised, for the first time in such detail, the distinction between occupational and non-occupational exposure to asbestos, observing that non-occupational exposure had not been adequately considered earlier by either the NGT or the Supreme Court of India. It rejected the manufacturers’ argument that asbestos cement roofing sheets do not release fibres because the fibres are firmly bound in cement, holding this claim to be incorrect in light of the government’s own admission that fibres can be released during weathering or breakage.

The judgment further ruled that asbestos fibres fall within the definition of air, water and environmental pollutants under India’s pollution control and environmental protection laws. However, the Tribunal stopped short of imposing an outright ban on asbestos roofing in schools, citing the absence of “positive specific scientific evidence” before it. Instead, it ordered regulated use and directed the environment ministry to take an appropriate decision after reviewing scientific material and global best practices relating to asbestos-containing materials in schools, residential buildings and other structures.

As interim precautionary measures, the NGT directed that asbestos cement sheets used in schools be coated with paint or lime on both sides, and emphasised strict norms for disposal of asbestos roofing sheets and pipes. The ruling also stressed the need for safeguards throughout the entire lifecycle of asbestos products, including production, installation, maintenance and dismantling.

The Tribunal has given the government six months to submit an Action Taken Report detailing compliance with its directions. Observers have cautioned against interpreting the judgment as an endorsement of asbestos use in schools, noting that the NGT has effectively placed the responsibility on the government to frame a comprehensive policy on the issue.

The case was heard as Original Application No. 298 of 2023 before the Principal Bench of the National Green Tribunal in New Delhi.