Currently, according to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi creates an estimated 200,000 tonnes of electronic garbage annually.

The Delhi government declared in April 2021 that it would establish the first electronic trash (e-waste) park in the nation. The project has finally begun after more than two years, according to officials with knowledge of the situation.

According to data from the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Delhi currently produces an estimated 200,000 tonnes of e-waste annually. However, the city does not have a designated e-waste park, so the majority of the e-waste ends up in landfills or garbage bins, or largely ends up in the informal sector where they are dismantled and recycled in violation of all the established environmental safety rules.

According to officials, the e-waste park, which will be built on a 21-acre site in Holambi Kalan, northwest of Delhi, will enable for the collection and recycling of this garbage under one roof.

“We have a consultant on board, and he or she has begun work on compiling a thorough project report on the scope and characteristics of the ambitious project. The project must adhere closely to the rules established by the 2016 E-Waste (Management) Rules. The detailed project report must be finished by the consultant before the year is through. The job began last week, and according to a Delhi government official who wished to remain anonymous, we anticipate the consultant to give its report by the end of this year.

E-waste regulations require the state government or any authorized agency to oversee the collection of electronic trash through collection points or centers, as well as the identification and registration of personnel engaged in their disassembly and recycling. The government must also help these workers organize into groups to make it easier to set up dismantling facilities, conduct industrial skill development activities for the workers involved in dismantling and recycling, and conduct annual monitoring to guarantee the safety and health of these workers.

Anil Baijal, the lieutenant governor in place at the time, initially set a launch date for the e-waste park project for the end of 2023. The project will be finished in another two years, according to environment minister Gopal Rai, who set the July 2024 target after a subsequent evaluation of the project in July 2022.

The Delhi State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIDC) published a tender for the park in February, but no bidders responded, according to a report from HT on April 21. A company was then hired last week to compile the project report for the park after the corporation was compelled to refloat the competition in March.

Officials said that the e-park’s development will take about 18 months, thus this means that it won’t be ready for use until at least 2025.

Knowing about the project, a DSIIDC official stated, “The complete project report will be an exhaustive report on the feasibility as well as conceptual design of the e-waste project, covering the challenges and risks it may pose. The department will present the final report to the Delhi government for review and approval after it has been presented to us. The work to establish the e-waste park in accordance with the planned plan will start after the plan has been authorized.

The Capital still relies on the city’s sole authorized e-waste collection facility in northeast Delhi’s Mandoli Industrial sector in the absence of a specialized e-waste park. While two registered e-waste refurbishers are in charge of creating value from the collected e-waste in Patparganj and Badarpur, there are currently six registered e-waste dismantlers located in Okhla, Peeragarhi, and Mandoli.

However, a 2018 investigation by the non-governmental organization Toxics Link revealed that there are over 5,000 informal e-waste processing facilities operating throughout Delhi-NCR, the most of which do not adhere to any safety regulations or legal procedures.

“The e-waste park is a good concept, but I think it will be important to see how and whether Eco Park in Delhi will be able to integrate the existing informal sector,” said Priti Banthia Mahesh, main program coordinator for Toxics Link. They might not want to participate unless it offers them some obvious advantages. Economic viability for a park of this size might only be feasible if e-waste from other regions of the nation is also brought in. This open flow could raise more issues if sufficient monitoring is not conducted.

Gopal Rai, the environment minister, reported that the consultant has started putting together the park’s full project report. The Delhi government has made it a priority to dispose of electronic waste in accordance with all environmental regulations as part of its overall effort to improve the environment. The consultant has been instructed to provide a comprehensive report on the project as soon as practicable. A proposal would be presented to the cabinet following the consultant’s report submission, added Rai.

Source- Hindustan times