India To Ban E-Waste Import sTo Save Environment

The government of India is planning to ban the importation of used computers and other forms of electronic waste after reports that weak domestic rules are allowing the potentially dangerous garbage to be dumped into the country.

This e-waste, usually procured from developed countries like the US, Australia, Canada and parts of Europe, is also manifested in the form of smuggling, incidents of which have come to light recently.

The Economic Intelligence Council of the government will soon hold a meeting to discuss the issue. It's also been a topic on the agendas of several economic intelligence agencies, held under the ambit of Revenue Secretary Sunil Mitra. At a July meeting, Mitra asked the Director General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) to come up with a policy to check such imports, as they spell danger for people as well as the environment.

The DGFT was also asked to increase vigil at Indian ports and seize any material suspected to damage the environment.

The issue of e-waste as environmental hazard became serious with the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) capturing some containers at a port in Chennai that contained large quantities of e-waste in the form of outdated computers and electrical waste.

Mobile phones, televisions, printers and industrial equipment also are sources of electronic waste.

When the DRI officials conducted further investigation into the incident, they found out that hundreds of tons of such waste was being imported from countries such as Australia, Korea, Canada and Brunei.

According to recent reports, IT hubs like the city of Bengaluru generate thousands of tons of e-waste with serious environmental consequences. However, more than the e-waste itself, it is the poor management of this waste as well as loopholes in the national import policy that are the real problems, suggest experts.

The Mumbai-Pune corridor, which is a commercially fast-paced part of the country, produces one-third of the country’s e-waste.

The government has already forbidden educational institutions and non-governmental organizations from importing second-hand computers, laptops and computer peripherals contributed as donations. However, the step was short of imposing a complete ban on the activity.