The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) in Nagpur was originally established in 1958 as the Central Public Health Engineering Research Institute (CPHERI). It has been described as the "premier and oldest institute in India." It is an institution listed on the Integrated Government Online Directory. It operates under the aegis of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), based in New Delhi. Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India at the time, renamed the Institute NEERI in 1974.
The Institute primarily focused on human health issues related to water supply, sewage disposal, diseases, and industrial pollution.
NEERI operates as a laboratory in the field of environmental science and engineering and is one of the constituent laboratories of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR). The institute has six zonal laboratories located in Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata,Nagpur, and Mumbai. NEERI operates under the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Indian government. NEERI is a partner organization of India's POPs National Implementation Plan (NIP).