Karnataka: No proper system to dispose e-waste

Bengaluru: IT City Bengaluru has little information about the e-waste it generates and no proper means of collecting it either, although it does have 71 private centres for segregating the e-waste it produces.

This was revealed during question hour in the Legislative Assembly when Jayanagar MLA ,  Vijay Kumar, raised the issue, contending that the dry waste collected by the BBMP in the wards could not pass off as collection of e-waste.

He said that e-waste was segregated using crude methods in areas like Shivjinagar, Goripalya, Jali Mohalla, City Market and Bismilla Nagar by a “mafia,”  which let toxins like acid, lead and cyanide  into city drains, and pocketed the  precious metals like gold, silver and platinum recovered in the process.

“This mafia involved  in illegal segregation of e-waste dumps the toxins into the drains, risking the health of the people,” he charged, adding that an ASSOCHOM study had revealed that Bengaluru  produces 92,000 metric tonnes  of e-waste every year.

Bengaluru Development Minister, K J George in his reply told the House that the government had identified 71 e-waste segregation centres, where people could go to dump their e-waste. Although the BBMP was issuing licenses for scientific segregation of the waste,  there was no system of house- to- house collection of e-waste, he admitted.

The minister added that the BBMP and the state and Central Pollution Control Boards were empowered to take action against those involved in illegal segregation of e-waste.

Police stations
Meanwhile, in reply to another question,  Home Minister, Dr G Parameswhar said  the government was in the process of scientifically restructuring the jurisdictions of police stations in the city. While some had jurisdiction over two kilometers, others covered 10 to 20 kms, he explained. A draft for restructuring them was ready and would be implemented soon, he added.