India, Aug. 31 -- Environment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Friday directed the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) to begin work on two new Biomedical Waste (BMW) treatment plants in the city, saying that the existing facilities are grossly inadequate to meet the Capital's needs.

Sirsa said that Delhi currently operates only two half-acre plants that together handle 40 tonnes of biomedical waste daily from nearly 10,000 healthcare establishments.

"Biomedical-waste piles pose a great threat to public health and air quality if left untreated. Our current two units cannot be expected to shoulder the entire city's 40mt daily load," the minister said after a series of review meetings with senior officials.

Delhi's BMW processing c...