Govt offering financial help for e-waste management

To facilitate e-waste management in the country, the government is implementing a scheme under which financial assistance is provided for awareness and capacity building activities relating to e-waste management.
Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar told Lok Sabha today that under the 'Creation of Management Structure for Hazardous Substances' scheme, government is also setting up integrated recycling facility for e-waste.
"In addition, guidelines for implementation of e-waste rules 2011 have been formulated," he said.
Javadekar said monitoring of compliance of authorisation and registration conditions fall under the purview of state polution control boards but no large scale violation of the e-waste management and handling rules by industrial units and public enterprises has been reported to the Ministry.

The Minister said toxic constituents such as lead, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls and polybrominated diphenyl ethers are used in the manufacturing of electronic devices.
"Disposal of e-waste from such electronic devices, without processing it in an environmentally sound manner may affect the human health and environment including soil and ground water," he said, adding as per the survey carried out by the Central Pollution Control Board during 2005, 1,46,800 MT of e-waste was generated in the country.