Tamil Nadu chokes under e-waste menace

Chennai, July 9: The IT revolution in Tamil Nadu is posing a threat to the environment in the form of e-waste. The quantum of e-waste generated is on the rise with more IT and ITES companies setting up units here and in tier-II cities like Tiruchirapalli and Madurai in the state.

Excluding certain IT majors, which have recently decided to block the purchase and use of electronic components that do not comply with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) norms, all other companies are yet to frame a comprehensive policy of their own to deal with the e-waste menace.

''The discarded electronic and computer equipments are piling up in different parts of the city, particularly in areas like Moor Market, Trishulam and Red Hills. The people involved in breaking and sorting the components are not aware of the danger it poses to their health,'' Mr Rajesh Rangarajan, Programme Officer of Citizen Consumer and Action Group, an NGO monitoring environmental issues, told sources here.

He said the IT industry and the Government need to take immediate steps to curb the menace before it overwhelms the state.

According to Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) Joint Chief Environmental Engineer S Balaji, though the TNPCB had asked the IT companies to discard their e-waste through recognised collection agents, so far no company had fully complied with our request. ''Presently, there is no mandatory rule for the IT companies to comply with the PCB norms on e-waste dumping. The PCB will urge the government to frame a law, making it mandatory for both the IT and ITES companies to comply with the PCB in this regard,'' he said.

Mr Balaji said the TNPCB had constituted a committee, comprising two professors of Anna University, two officials from Chennai Port Trust (CPT), two from Customs Department and two from NGOs, working in environment protection, to formulate a policy to check the e-waste menace in the state.

''The Customs Department and the CPT officials have been asked to strictly monitor the inflow of computer peripherals and electronic equipments, which do not comply with the RoHS norms, into the state,'' he said.

Apart from this, the TNPCB had issued a circular asking the IT, ITES and electronic components manufacturing companies in the state to dump their e-waste only through authorised collection agents.

The TNPCB had given licence to five private parties for collecting e-waste and three more applications were under consideration, he added.

UNI

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