Waste-to-Energy Plants in Pimpri-Chinchwad & Sangli Serve Show-Cause Notices for Environmental Violations
Major violations flagged at WTE plants in Pimpri-Chinchwad and Sangli: show-cause notice issued; combustion, ash-monitoring & consent lapses cited.
Pune | November 21, 2025: The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has identified serious regulatory breaches at two prominent waste-to-energy (WTE) facilities in Maharashtra — the one in Pimpri‑Chinchwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) and another in Sangli. The state regulator, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), has served a formal show-cause notice to the PCMC WTE plant and issued directions for the Sangli facility, following a compliance report submitted to the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
According to the CPCB findings, the PCMC WTE plant, commissioned in 2023 in Moshi and capable of processing approximately 700 tonnes of municipal solid waste per day and generating around 12 MW of electricity, failed to perform or report separate analyses of bottom ash and fly ash as required under the Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016. The CPCB reported that a show-cause notice had been issued in July for this lapse.
In the case of the Sangli WTE plant, the CPCB found that it was operating without the mandatory “consent to operate” (CTO) from the MPCB, and that the combustion chamber temperature was far below the required minimum of 850 °C — operating reportedly around 230 °C, which leads to inefficient combustion, high loss on ignition and increased risk of harmful emissions and residual waste. The plant had also allegedly not been subject to monitoring by the MPCB for a span of five years.
Environmental and public-health advocates have urged immediate suspension of operations at both facilities until full compliance is demonstrated. They point out that incomplete combustion, unmonitored ash disposal and leachate containing heavy metals can pose serious risks to air, groundwater and soil quality in nearby communities. The violation also raises broader questions about the efficacy of WTE projects as sustainable waste-management solutions without strong oversight.
In response, PCMC officials acknowledged that while analyses for ash and emissions were being conducted, the formal submission of reports was delayed due to “lack of explicit directions”. They have stated their intention to comply fully with the CPCB’s instructions and submit the required documentation. The Sangli plant operators, meanwhile, face potential enforcement actions by the MPCB including revocation of CTO, imposition of environmental compensation and strict monitoring of emissions and residues.
The implications of these developments are significant. WTE plants are increasingly being positioned as key tools for urban waste management and energy generation — yet their credibility depends on robust environmental safeguards being enforced. If major units in Maharashtra are found operating out of compliance, it could trigger more stringent scrutiny across India’s WTE sector. For local jurisdictions like PCMC and Sangli, this will mean enhanced regulatory burdens, community scrutiny and possible reputational risks.
This case also underscores the need for stronger continuous emissions monitoring systems (CEMS/OCEMS) and transparent online reporting of ash handling, flue-gas parameters and groundwater/leachate data. Experts argue that the environmental benefits of WTE plants must be matched by equally functioning oversight mechanisms, otherwise the model could degrade into being “waste incineration disguised as waste-management”.
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