NGT directs DPCC to submit fresh report on 5,000 illegal e-waste processing units in Delhi NCR

The National Green Tribunal directed the Delhi Pollution Control Committee and UPPCB on Thursday to submit a fresh report on a plea alleging that 5,000 illegal e-waste processing units are operating in and around Delhi. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel ordered that the report be filed by DPCC in coordination with the District Magistrates of East and North East Delhi with regard to the area in Delhi, the Uttar Pradesh State Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) and Ghaziabad District Magistrate before April 23.

The direction came after perusing a report filed by the DPCC which said that the Central Pollution Control Board had convened a meeting of all stakeholders to discuss the findings of the study undertaken by an NGO, Toxics Link, and to discuss ways for stopping unauthorized e-waste recycling units. The pollution monitoring body told the NGT that nine teams were constituted to carry out inspections of the areas falling in different districts to identify illegal e-waste storage and handling units for their effective closure.

DPCC took action on its own against illegal e-waste handling units in the old Seelampur area and closed 57 premises effectively in the month of July 2019, it said. The tribunal, however, asked DPCC to file a fresh action report.

The NGT had taken note of a news article that said that 5,000 illegal e-waste processing units are operating in and around Delhi as per the Toxic Link study. The hotspots are located in Northeastern and Eastern parts of Delhi, including Seelampur (Shahadra), Mustafabad (North East Delhi), Behta Hazipur and Lone (Ghaziabad).

Waste is sold to the said units by dismantlers and recyclers, it said. "Over 5,000 illegal e-waste processing units employing approximately 50,000 people continue to operate in violation of environmental norms in the capital, a study by think tank Toxics Link has revealed. The study has found that these units operate in 15 "informal hotspots" in Delhi.

"According to the study titled 'Informal E-waste Recycling in Delhi: Unfolding impact of two years of e-waste (Management) Rules 2016', the hotspots are located in the Northeastern and Eastern part of Delhi, including Seelampur (Shahdara), Mustafabad (North East Delhi), Behta Hazipur and Loni (Ghaziabad), among other places," the news article said. It said that Seelampur, Mustafabad, Behta Hazipur and Loni in Ghaziabad account for about 57 percent, 15 percent, 9 percent and 10 percent of all e-waste informal processing units. Many have been operating for about three decades.

As per news report, the study also finds that many authorized dismantlers/recyclers are selling waste to the informal sector, in complete violation of the law.