Delhi to get park for safe e-waste disposal

“The Delhi chief secretary will head the drawing of the plan for this facility, after consulting the Union ministry of environment, forests and climate change and the ministry of electronics and information technology,” a senior government official said.

The Capital will soon get an e-waste management park for the safe and scientific disposal of electronic products such as appliances and e-vehicle batteries, according officials in the Delhi Lieutenant Governor’s office.

In the absence of a protocol for its disposal and management, the Capital has been struggling to handle e-waste. (RAHUL RAUT/HT PHOTO)

“The Delhi chief secretary will head the drawing of the plan for this facility, after consulting the Union ministry of environment, forests and climate change (MoEFCC) and the ministry of electronics and information technology,” a senior government official said on Friday.

The official also said the proposal will also work on a system to incentivise citizens and agencies, to encourage the safe disposal of e-waste.

In the absence of a protocol for its disposal and management, the Capital has been struggling to handle e-waste.

A 2019 study conducted by environment NGO Toxics Link found at least 15 e-waste processing hot spots in the city that were operating without any health or environmental safeguards.

Senior government officials said Delhi L-G Anil Baijal, along with K Vijay Raghavan, principal scientific advisor to government of India, on Thursday chaired a meeting with officials from the Delhi government, the three municipal corporations, the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), and representatives from the above-mentioned union ministries, to discuss the need to working out a mechanism for the safe disposal of e-waste.