Translation (English-Hindi) Exercise – 54

 The management of e-waste in the Country is regulated under the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016 and amendments thereof. The Rules are effective from 01-10-2016 and have the following specific objectives:

·         Extended Responsibility to producers to manage a system of E-waste collection, storage, transportation and environmentally sound dismantling and recycling through EPR Authorization (EPRA).

·         To promote and encourage establishment of an efficient e-waste collection mechanism.

·         To promote environmentally safe and sound recycling through authorized dismantlers and recyclers of e-waste.

·         To minimize illegal recycling / recovery operations.

·         Reduce hazardous substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (EEE).

Under the aforesaid rules, provisions have been made for dismantling and recycling of e-waste. The dismantlers and recyclers have to obtain authorization from concern State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/ Pollution Control Committees (PCCs). The concerned SPCB/PCC grants authorization after ensuring that the dismantlers and recyclers have the dismantling and recycling facilities as per the guidelines of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).  Presently four hundred and sixty-eight (468) numbers dismantlers/recyclers of E-Waste are operating in twenty-two (22) States namely Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Gujarat, Goa, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Jharkhand, Kerala, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal. These authorised dismantlers/recyclers have annual processing capacity of 13,85,932.22 tonnes.

Principle of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) has been implemented for management of e-waste in the country. Under EPR, Producers have to collect targeted quantity of e-waste for environmentally sound dismantling and recycling only through an authorised dismantlers and recyclers. The authorized dismantler and recyclers are required to carry out dismantling and recycling of e-waste in an environmentally sound manner as per the guidelines published by CPCB. In a dismantling and recycling facilities, the number of employees depends on its processing capacity.

As per the information provided by Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), being the nodal ministry for electronics and IT, MeitY has amended the existing Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS) to provide support for setting up of state-of-art e-waste recycling facilities for extraction of precious metals from e-waste components. The scheme envisioned for financial incentive of 25% on capital expenditure.

Translation (English-Hindi) Exercise – 53

Rivers in the country are polluted and contaminated mainly due to discharge of untreated and partially treated sewage from cities/towns and industrial effluents in their respective catchments. Non-point source of pollution like erosion, transportation and sedimentation of rocks, soils, agriculture runoff, open defecation and runoff from solid waste dumping sites, etc. also contribute to pollution of river.

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in association with State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/Pollution Control Committee (PCCs) in different States/ Union Territories (UTs) have been monitoring water quality of rivers and other water bodies across the country through a network of monitoring stations under the National Water Quality Monitoring Programme. As per the last report published by CPCB in September 2018, 351 polluted stretches have been identified on 323 rivers based on monitoring results of 521 rivers in the country in terms of Bio-chemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), an indicator of organic pollution. State-wise details of polluted river stretches are given at Annexure.

Based on the assessment of water quality, various measures are being taken both by the Central and the State Government to prevent pollution of rivers and drains out-falling into them. River cleaning is a continuous process and the Central Government assists the State Governments and urban local bodies through schemes like ‘Namami Gange’ and National River Conservation Plan (NRCP) of Ministry Jal Shakti. NRCP has so far covered polluted stretches on 34 rivers in 77 towns spread over 16 States in the country with a sanctioned cost of Rs.5961.75 crore, and inter-alia, a sewage treatment capacity of 2677 million litres per day (mld) has been created. Under the Namami Gange programme a total of 364 projects, including 160 projects for sewage treatment of 5024 mld and sewer network of 5227 kms, have been sanctioned at a cost of Rs.30853 crore. In addition, assistance is also provided for sewerage and solid waste management works under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) and Smart City Mission of Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, etc. Further, priority for effective rejuvenation of small rivers has been accorded under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).