Government Tightens Biomedical Waste Rules – AYUSH Sector Brought Under Compliance Net as CPCB Cracks Down on Illegal Deep Burial Across 17 States

Healthcare facilities across India, including Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy (AYUSH) establishments, are staring down a new wave of regulatory obligations after the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) notified the Bio-Medical Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2026, even as the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) faces pressure from the National Green Tribunal (NGT) over widespread violations in “deep burial” disposal practices.

Corpseed, a compliance and regulatory advisory firm, is flagging both developments as significant for hospitals, clinics, diagnostic labs, and traditional-medicine practitioners who now need to reassess how their facilities are governed and monitored.

AYUSH Formally Pulled Into the Compliance Framework

The amendment, notified by MoEFCC vide G.S.R. 293(E) on April 17, 2026, changes the composition of the state-level advisory committees set up under Rule 11 of the Bio-Medical Waste Management Rules, 2016. Until now, these committees were built around representatives from the Departments of Health, Urban Development, and other allied departments.

The amendment inserts the word “Ayush” directly after “Departments of Health” in Rule 11(1), meaning every state and Union Territory advisory committee must now include a representative from the Department of AYUSH. A parallel change to Rule 12(6) extends this logic down to the district level. District-level monitoring committees, which were earlier anchored around the District Health Officer, must now also include a representative nominated specifically by the State or UT Department of AYUSH.

In practical terms, this closes a long-standing gap. AYUSH hospitals, panchakarma centres, homeopathic clinics and similar establishments were always covered as “occupiers” generating biomedical waste under the 2016 Rules, but the institutions overseeing compliance were built almost entirely around the mainstream (allopathic) health system. With this amendment, AYUSH facilities effectively get a seat at the table where segregation standards, authorisation issues and local enforcement decisions are actually discussed — and, by extension, come under closer and more specific scrutiny than before.

CPCB Under Pressure Over Deep Burial Violations

Separately, and arguably more consequential for facilities currently in violation, the CPCB has told the NGT that it will initiate action against states and Union Territories that continue to flout the rules governing “deep burial” — a disposal method meant strictly for rural or remote healthcare facilities that have no access to a Common Bio-Medical Waste Treatment Facility (CBWTF), and only with prior authorisation from the state pollution control authority. In a compliance report dated August 4, 2026, placed before the NGT bench of Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and Expert Member Dr Afroz Ahmad, the CPCB disclosed that 17 out of India’s 36 states and Union Territories are still relying on deep burial for biomedical waste disposal.

Of the 9,178 healthcare facilities using this method, only 5,715 were found to be fully compliant. The remaining facilities showed one or more violations — most commonly, failure to maintain the mandatory six-metre groundwater clearance below the burial pit (477 facilities), and operating without proper authorisation from the prescribed state authority (341 facilities). Other recurring lapses flagged in the report include burial pits located too close to habitation or water sources, poor record-keeping, inadequate supervision during burial, and failure to prevent animals from accessing the sites. Separately, spot inspections of 120 facilities using deep burial found only 16 fully compliant with every prescribed standard.

The NGT has directed CPCB to file a fresh progress report ahead of the next hearing on October 28, 2026, and the CPCB has confirmed it has already written to the State Pollution Control Boards and Pollution Control Committees of the violating states, warning of further action if the gaps are not closed.

What This Means for Healthcare Facilities

Taken together, the two developments point in one direction: tighter oversight, more scrutiny, and less tolerance for shortcuts — whether that’s a rural clinic burying waste without the right groundwater clearance, or an AYUSH facility that has never had its biomedical waste practices formally reviewed. Facilities that rely on deep burial should treat authorisation and groundwater-table compliance as immediate priorities, not paperwork to be sorted out later.

AYUSH establishments, meanwhile, should expect their waste segregation, storage, and disposal practices to draw fresh attention now that a dedicated departmental representative sits on the very committees responsible for monitoring compliance.

About Corpseed

Corpseed is a Gurugram-based legal, licensing and compliance advisory firm that helps hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centres, pharmaceutical units and other regulated businesses navigate India’s environmental and healthcare compliance requirements — including biomedical waste authorisation, CBWTF agreements, Pollution Control Board approvals, and related regulatory filings. The firm works with healthcare providers across allopathic and AYUSH systems to keep their operations aligned with evolving central and state rules.