CPCB TSDF Lawyer

CPCB TSDF Lawyer: a practical guide to the law, the authorities involved, the documents you need and the steps that usually work. Legals365 is the legal platform of Advocate B.K. Singh and associates, who appear before pollution control boards, the NGT and the courts.

In short. Any unit that generates, stores, transports, recycles, treats or disposes of hazardous waste needs authorisation from the state pollution control board under the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules 2016. Waste can usually be stored for 90 days, must move under a Form 10 manifest with an authorised transporter, and must reach an authorised recycler, co-processor or TSDF. Gaps lead to notices, environmental compensation and closure.

Hazardous waste law is a paper trail law. The board does not see your waste leave the gate; it sees your authorisation, your stock register, your manifests, your annual return and the TSDF's or recycler's receipts. When those documents do not add up, the board assumes the missing waste went somewhere it should not have, and the notice that follows can lead to environmental compensation or closure.

This page explains who needs hazardous waste authorisation, how to get it, what the storage, labelling, manifest and record-keeping rules require, how TSDFs and recyclers fit in, and how legacy waste, landfill fires and spills are dealt with. It is written for factories, hospitals, airports, IT parks, builders, TSDF operators, recyclers and civic bodies. The industry, authority and city sections of this page add the local detail.

Main law

Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules 2016, made under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986 and amended several times since; CPCB guidelines and standard operating procedures; Environment Protection (Management of Contaminated Sites) Rules 2025; Solid Waste Management Rules 2026 for municipal legacy waste

Authority

State pollution control board or pollution control committee (DPCC, UPPCB, HSPCB and others) for authorisation and enforcement; CPCB for guidelines and SOPs; MoEFCC for import and export

Key forms

Form 1 application and Form 2 authorisation; Form 3 records; Form 4 annual return (due by 30 June); Form 10 manifest for transport; accident reporting in the prescribed form

Time limits

Storage generally up to 90 days (longer only where the board permits); annual return by 30 June for the previous financial year; appeal against refusal, suspension or cancellation of authorisation to the state's appellate authority within 30 days; NGT section 14 application within six months of the cause of action

Documents

Consent to operate, authorisation, TSDF membership certificate or recycler agreement, manifests, stock register, annual returns, lab analysis of waste, transporter authorisation and vehicle details

What hazardous waste authorisation covers and who needs it

Hazardous waste authorisation is the permission the state pollution control board grants, under rule 6 of the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules 2016, to an occupier who generates, collects, stores, packages, transports, uses, treats, processes, recycles, recovers, pre-processes, co-processes, utilises, sells, transfers or disposes of hazardous and other wastes. In short: if hazardous waste passes through your hands at any stage, you need it.

Generators are the largest group: chemical, pharmaceutical, steel, engineering, textile, paint, electroplating, automobile, refinery and electronics units. But many non-industrial premises also generate hazardous waste and are surprised to learn it. A hospital's used oil and lab chemicals, an airport's fuel sludge and oily rags, an IT park's DG set used oil and spent batteries, a real estate project's paint and solvent waste, and a data centre's used oil all fall within the rules.

Recyclers, pre-processors, co-processors (such as cement kilns), transporters and operators of treatment, storage and disposal facilities (TSDFs) need authorisation too, and some also need specific registration or environmental clearance. The authorisation is separate from the consent to operate under the Water and Air Acts, though boards usually process them together; see our page on consent to establish and operate.

The provisions you will meet most often

Is your waste hazardous? Reading the schedules

Whether a waste is hazardous depends on the schedules to the rules. Schedule I lists processes and the wastes they generate (spent solvents from a pharmaceutical process, ETP sludge from a dye unit, used oil from almost any industry). Schedule II lists concentration limits; waste with listed substances above those limits is hazardous whatever the process. Schedule III covers wastes regulated for import and export, and wastes showing hazardous characteristics such as toxicity, flammability, corrosivity or reactivity are treated as hazardous even if not listed.

Two practical points matter. First, the rules are amended often; entries are added and removed (in 2026, for instance, an entry for brine sludge from caustic soda production was removed from Schedule I, though such sludge remains hazardous if it shows hazardous characteristics). Check the current schedules, not an old consent copy. Second, a generator who believes a waste is not hazardous should prove it with analysis by a recognised laboratory and get the board to accept that in writing. Assuming it is non-hazardous and sending it to a scrap dealer is the start of many prosecutions.

Mixing hazardous waste with non-hazardous waste to dilute it does not make it non-hazardous; it usually makes the whole mixture hazardous. Keep streams separate at source.

How to obtain hazardous waste authorisation

1. List every waste stream

   Identify each hazardous waste the unit generates or handles, with its Schedule category, quantity per year and the process it comes from. Include maintenance wastes like used oil, oily cotton waste, empty chemical drums and spent batteries.

2. Arrange the disposal route

   Get TSDF membership for wastes to be landfilled or incinerated, and agreements with authorised recyclers or co-processors for wastes that can be reused. The board will not grant authorisation without a lawful route for each stream.

3. Prepare the storage area

   Build a covered, paved, bunded storage area with leachate collection, fire protection, labelling and segregation of incompatible wastes. Photographs of this area are part of most applications.

4. Apply online in Form 1

   File the application on the state board's portal with the consent to operate, process description, waste inventory, TSDF and recycler documents, storage details and fee. Many boards combine this with the consent application.

5. Inspection and queries

   Board officers may inspect the storage area and records. Answer queries in writing and promptly; delays usually come from incomplete waste inventories or missing disposal contracts.

6. Authorisation and compliance

   The board grants authorisation in Form 2 with quantities and conditions, valid for the period stated (many boards align it with the consent to operate). Comply from day one: manifests, records, returns and storage limits.

Common waste streams and their lawful routes

Storage, labelling and the 90-day rule

Hazardous waste can generally be stored at the generator's premises for up to 90 days. Longer storage needs the board's permission, which it may give in specified situations such as small quantity generators or where a lawful disposal route is temporarily unavailable. Waste lying in the yard for a year, even in drums, is a violation in itself, and it is often the first thing an inspector notices.

Storage must be in a designated area that is covered, has an impervious floor, is bunded to contain spills, and keeps incompatible wastes apart. Containers must be labelled with the nature of the waste, its hazard, the date of generation and the generator's details, as the rules and CPCB guidelines specify. Fire safety, spill kits and trained staff are expected, and the board may check all of them.

When inspectors find waste beyond 90 days, the usual explanation is that the TSDF did not lift it or the recycler delayed. That is not a defence unless it is documented. Keep written requests to the TSDF, its replies, and any intimation to the board about the delay. An intimation sent before the 90 days run out puts the unit in a far better position than an explanation offered after the inspection.

Manifests and transport: where most cases are won or lost

Hazardous waste can leave the premises only with a manifest in Form 10, carried by a transporter authorised for the purpose, in a vehicle meeting the requirements for hazardous goods under motor vehicle law. The manifest is a multi-copy document: the generator, transporter and receiving facility each sign and keep copies, and copies go to the state board at the stages specified. Many boards now run the manifest system online, and some require GPS-tracked vehicles.

The manifest closes the loop. The quantity dispatched should match the quantity received at the TSDF or recycler, and both should match the stock register and annual return. Gaps, such as a manifest without a receipt, a receipt for less than was dispatched, or dispatch to a facility not authorised for that waste category, are treated as evidence of illegal dumping. Where waste goes to a facility in another state for disposal, the rules require the no objection of the boards of both states before it moves.

In hazardous waste notices that reach Advocate B.K. Singh's office, the weak point is usually not the storage area but the manifests: unsigned copies, quantities rounded off, or receipts that never came back from the recycler. A generator who reconciles manifests every month rarely has trouble at the hearing.

TSDF membership and disposal contracts

A TSDF (treatment, storage and disposal facility) is where hazardous waste that cannot be recycled or co-processed is treated and disposed of, usually in a secured landfill or an incinerator. Most generators use a common TSDF run by a state-sponsored or private operator and become members by paying a membership fee and per-tonne charges. TSDF membership is commonly a precondition for consent and authorisation.

Read the TSDF contract with care. It should state which waste categories the TSDF accepts, the analysis and acceptance procedure, the lifting schedule, the responsibility for transport, and what happens if the TSDF rejects a load or stops operating. A TSDF that refuses waste because its analysis shows it is outside its acceptance criteria leaves the generator holding waste beyond 90 days, so pre-dispatch analysis is worth the cost.

TSDF operators carry their own obligations: authorisation under rule 6, environmental clearance (common hazardous waste TSDFs are a listed category under the EIA Notification 2006), design and operation as per CPCB guidelines, waste fingerprinting, records, groundwater monitoring and long post-closure care. Complaints about TSDFs from nearby villages often reach the NGT, and operators should keep monitoring data ready. Hospitals should note that their bio-medical waste goes to a common bio-medical waste treatment facility, not a hazardous waste TSDF; see our page on bio-medical waste compliance.

Recycling, co-processing, used oil EPR and import or export

The rules prefer recovery to disposal. Used oil goes to authorised re-refiners, spent solvents to authorised solvent recovery units, and many high-calorific wastes to cement kilns for co-processing under CPCB's standard operating procedures. A recycler or co-processor must hold authorisation for the specific waste category and quantity, and a generator who sends waste to an unauthorised recycler shares the liability. Ask for the recycler's current authorisation every year and keep a copy.

The rules also now carry extended producer responsibility (EPR) obligations for some streams, including used oil and waste tyres, administered through CPCB portals. Producers, importers and recyclers must register and file returns; see our pages on tyre EPR and e-waste EPR for connected regimes.

Import and export of hazardous and other wastes is controlled by MoEFCC under Chapter III of the rules, reflecting the Basel Convention. Import for disposal is prohibited, certain wastes cannot be imported at all, and import of listed wastes for recycling or reuse needs prior permission and documents at the port. Customs seizures of mis-declared waste consignments are a recurring problem for importers of metal scrap and used goods.

Records, annual returns and reconciliation

Every authorised occupier must keep records of hazardous waste generated, stored, dispatched, recycled and disposed of in Form 3, and file an annual return in Form 4 with the state board by 30 June for the previous financial year. Many boards require these online. The return must match the authorisation quantities, the manifests and the TSDF or recycler receipts.

Boards now cross-check returns against manifest data, TSDF receipts and production figures. A unit whose production rose by 30 per cent while its declared hazardous waste fell by half will be asked where the rest went. Generating more waste than the authorised quantity is a violation even if all of it was lawfully disposed of; apply for an amendment before the authorised quantity is exceeded.

A monthly reconciliation, done by someone who understands both the plant and the paperwork, prevents most notices. Keep the stock register, manifests and receipts together, month by month, so that a year's records can be produced in an hour when the inspector asks.

Legacy waste: old stockpiles, dumpsites and contaminated sites

Legacy waste means waste that has accumulated over years without lawful disposal. In industry it is the heap of old ETP sludge behind the shed, drums left by a previous owner, or contaminated soil from decades of operation. In cities it is the mountain of mixed municipal waste at old dumpsites. The law treats the two differently, though both are under close NGT scrutiny.

For industrial legacy waste, the occupier must get it analysed, obtain the board's approval for a disposal plan and send it to a TSDF, recycler or co-processor within agreed timelines. The Environment Protection (Management of Contaminated Sites) Rules 2025 provide a process for identifying sites contaminated by historical dumping of hazardous substances, assessing them and getting them remediated, with the cost placed on the polluter where it can be identified, and on the government where it cannot. Solid waste dumps are dealt with under the waste management rules rather than these rules. A buyer of an old industrial site should check for legacy contamination before purchase.

Municipal legacy waste is now governed by the Solid Waste Management Rules 2026, in force from 1 April 2026, which require urban local bodies to map legacy dumpsites (by 31 October 2026) and prepare time-bound remediation plans through biomining and bioremediation. Contractors carrying out biomining, and airports, rail yards or industrial estates with old dumps on their land, should check how the fractions recovered (including any hazardous fraction) are being disposed of. See our page on solid waste management compliance.

Landfill and waste fires

Fires at landfills and waste storage yards are both an environmental and a criminal problem. Methane build-up, summer heat and poor compaction cause fires at municipal dumpsites, as repeated fires at Delhi's Ghazipur and Bhalswa sites have shown; fires at hazardous waste storage areas and recycling yards are usually the result of incompatible storage, poor housekeeping or deliberate burning to reduce volume. Burning waste in the open is prohibited.

After a fire, expect the board and the district administration to inspect, the NGT to take note (often on a news report), and environmental compensation to be demanded from the civic body, the operator or the occupier. Where a fire causes death or injury, criminal cases for negligence under the BNS may follow. Insurers will look closely at whether storage complied with the rules.

The legal response begins on the day of the fire: document the fire-fighting effort, preserve CCTV and records of storage quantities, notify the board and fire department in writing, and avoid moving debris until it has been inspected, unless safety requires it. For chemical releases and toxic exposure claims, see our page on chemical accidents and spills.

Notices, penalties, compensation and closure

Boards act on hazardous waste violations in stages: a show cause notice, a hearing, and then directions that can include suspension or cancellation of the authorisation, environmental compensation, a bank guarantee for compliance, or closure of the unit with disconnection of power and water. Violations of the rules are also contraventions of the Environment (Protection) Act, which now attract monetary penalties fixed by an adjudicating officer after the 2023 amendment, and the rules themselves allow the board to levy financial penalties with the CPCB's approval.

Typical allegations are storage beyond 90 days, waste found outside the designated area, manifests not matching receipts, disposal to unauthorised parties, returns not filed, generation beyond authorised quantities and contaminated runoff from storage areas. Reply point by point, with stock registers, manifests, receipts, photographs of corrective work and a dated plan for anything still pending.

An order refusing, suspending or cancelling authorisation can be appealed to the state's appellate authority (the Environment Secretary of the state, under the rules) within 30 days. Closure directions under section 33A of the Water Act and directions under section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act can be appealed to the NGT under section 16 of the NGT Act; directions under section 31A of the Air Act are usually challenged by a writ petition in the High Court, and compensation demands are often taken to the NGT by an application under section 14. Our pages on show cause notice replies, closure orders and environmental compensation cover each stage.

How the obligations differ by type of occupier

A large chemical or pharmaceutical unit handles many waste streams and large quantities, and is inspected often; it needs a dedicated environment officer, monthly reconciliation and a relationship with more than one disposal route. A small engineering or electroplating unit may generate only a few tonnes a year, but still needs authorisation, TSDF membership and manifests; small generators may ask the board for longer storage periods rather than paying for frequent small lifts.

A hospital handles bio-medical waste under its own rules, but its used oil, lab chemicals, mercury waste and e-waste fall under hazardous waste, e-waste or battery rules. An airport, port or rail yard generates fuel sludge, used oil and contaminated soil, and often has legacy waste from years of operation. An IT park, mall or data centre generates mainly used oil from DG sets, spent batteries and e-waste, and is often surprised to need authorisation at all. A real estate developer generates paint, solvent and chemical waste during construction and should provide for it in contractor agreements.

A TSDF operator or recycler is on the other side of the transaction and must ensure it accepts only authorised categories and quantities, keeps receipts flowing back to generators and monitors its own site. A municipal body is responsible for dumpsites and legacy waste, and is the usual respondent in landfill fire cases.

Documents to keep ready

Mistakes that lead to notices

• Not knowing you are a generator. Used oil from DG sets and oily rags make most commercial premises hazardous waste generators.
• Storing beyond 90 days without telling anyone. If the TSDF delays, inform the board in writing before the limit passes.
• Selling waste to scrap dealers. Waste must go only to authorised recyclers or the TSDF, with a manifest each time.
• Ignoring manifest gaps. Reconcile dispatches with receipts every month.
• Exceeding authorised quantities. Apply for an amendment before production growth pushes waste above the authorised limit.
• Relying on an old copy of the schedules. The rules are amended often; check the current version.

What to do this week

List every hazardous waste stream on your premises, including maintenance wastes, and check each against your authorisation, quantities and disposal route. Walk the storage area and look for anything older than 90 days or stored outside it. Pull the last six months of manifests and match them with TSDF or recycler receipts.

If a notice has arrived, note the reply date, ask for the inspection report and sampling record, and start the reconciliation before you draft the reply. If an inspection or raid is under way, see our page on pollution board inspections and seizures; if the matter is already before the tribunal, our page on NGT cases explains the procedure.

If you want the papers checked before you act, the team of Advocate B.K. Singh at Legals365 can review them and tell you the next step: talk to a lawyer.

Dealing with the CPCB

The Central Pollution Control Board is the national pollution regulator. It was constituted under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act 1974 and works under the Air Act 1981 as well, with powers delegated under the Environment (Protection) Act 1986. It sets standards, coordinates and guides the state pollution control boards, resolves disputes between them, and runs the national monitoring networks for air and water quality. For day-to-day consents an industry deals with its state board or, in Delhi, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee, but the CPCB decides much of what those consents demand.

Three of its functions matter most to businesses. First, it classifies industries into red, orange, green and white categories, which decides how strict the consent regime is and how often a unit is inspected. Second, it can issue directions, including closure or stopping power and water supply, under section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, and it can direct state boards under section 18 of the Water and Air Acts. Third, it runs the centralised portals for extended producer responsibility under the rules on plastic packaging, e-waste, batteries, tyres and used oil, where producers, importers and brand owners register, file returns and buy or generate EPR certificates.

EPR enforcement has become a frequent source of notices. A brand owner that has not registered, has under-reported the quantity placed on the market, or has not met its recycling targets can face environmental compensation calculated under CPCB guidelines and suspension of registration. Recyclers and processors face scrutiny of the certificates they issue, and the CPCB has cancelled registrations where it found fake or inflated claims. Keeping sales data, invoices and recycler certificates consistent is the main defence.

The CPCB also appears often as a party or technical adviser in litigation. The NGT regularly appoints joint committees with the CPCB and the state board to inspect sites and report, and in Delhi NCR the CPCB works alongside the Commission for Air Quality Management on dust, industrial fuel and vehicle norms. Its flying squads inspect industries in the NCR and report violations. Industries in the seventeen highly polluting categories must connect online monitoring systems to CPCB servers, and data from those systems frequently forms the basis of a notice.

A notice or direction from the CPCB should be answered in writing within the time given, with data, photographs and a compliance plan. Directions and compensation orders can be challenged before the NGT or, where the complaint is about lack of hearing or jurisdiction, before the High Court in a writ. Ignoring the notice and waiting for the state board to sort it out rarely works.

Frequently asked questions

Who needs hazardous waste authorisation?

Anyone who generates, collects, stores, transports, recycles, treats or disposes of hazardous waste needs authorisation from the state pollution control board under rule 6 of the 2016 Rules. This includes factories and also hospitals, airports, IT parks and other premises that generate used oil or chemical waste.

How long can hazardous waste be stored on site?

Generally up to 90 days. Longer storage needs the board's permission, which may be given in specified cases such as small generators or where no disposal route is available. Inform the board in writing if a TSDF delays lifting.

What is a hazardous waste manifest?

It is the Form 10 document that must accompany every movement of hazardous waste. The generator, transporter and receiving facility each sign it, and copies go to the board, so that the quantity dispatched can be matched with the quantity received.

What is a TSDF and is membership compulsory?

A TSDF is a treatment, storage and disposal facility for hazardous waste that cannot be recycled or co-processed. Generators with such waste need a lawful disposal route, and boards commonly require TSDF membership before granting consent or authorisation.

When is the hazardous waste annual return due?

The annual return in Form 4 must be filed with the state board by 30 June each year for the previous financial year. It should match your authorisation, manifests and disposal receipts.

Can I sell used oil to a scrap dealer?

No. Used oil must go to a recycler or re-refiner authorised for it, with a manifest. Selling to unauthorised dealers is a violation for which the generator remains liable.

What is legacy waste and who must clear it?

Legacy waste is waste accumulated over years without lawful disposal. Industrial legacy waste must be cleared by the occupier with the board's approval, while municipal dumpsite legacy waste is the responsibility of the urban local body under the Solid Waste Management Rules 2026.

What happens after a fire at a landfill or waste storage yard?

The board and district administration inspect, the NGT may take up the matter, and environmental compensation can be demanded from the civic body, operator or occupier. Criminal cases for negligence can follow if anyone is hurt.

Can an order cancelling hazardous waste authorisation be appealed?

Yes. An order refusing, suspending or cancelling authorisation can be appealed to the state's appellate authority within 30 days. Closure directions and compensation demands can then be taken to the NGT.

Does bio-medical waste go to a hazardous waste TSDF?

No. Bio-medical waste goes to a common bio-medical waste treatment facility under the Bio-medical Waste Management Rules. A hospital's used oil, lab chemicals and e-waste, however, follow the hazardous waste or other applicable rules.

Do I need permission to send hazardous waste to another state?

Yes. Where hazardous waste is sent to a facility in another state for disposal, the rules require the no objection of the boards of both states before it moves, along with the manifest and an authorised transporter.

Can a buyer of an industrial site be liable for old contamination?

A buyer can face clean-up directions and costs for contamination on the site, depending on the facts and the Contaminated Sites Rules 2025. Check for legacy waste and contamination before purchase and allocate the risk in the contract.

Is the CPCB or the state board responsible for my factory's consent?

The state pollution control board, or the DPCC in Delhi, issues consent to establish and operate. The CPCB sets the standards and categories, runs the EPR portals and can issue directions directly, especially to highly polluting units or after its own inspections.

What is EPR registration with the CPCB?

Producers, importers and brand owners of plastic packaging, electronic goods, batteries and certain other products must register on the CPCB's EPR portals and meet yearly collection or recycling targets. Failure to register or to meet targets can lead to environmental compensation and suspension of registration.