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There is no specific legislation pertaining to the management of E-waste so far. Therefore, the issues of E-waste in India are indirectly and remotely covered by laws like Hazardous Wastes (Management & Handling) Rules (1989 / 2000 / 2003), DGFT Exim
Policies, etc. This raises an important question about the management and regulation of E-waste in India. There should be some authority that must be empowered to deal with E-waste in India. In April 2008, Ministry of Environment & Forests had issued Guideline's for environmentally sound management of E-waste.

The spirit behind these guidelines is to address sustainable development concerns in accordance with the National Environment Policy (NEP) 2006. It focuses on need to facilitate the recovery and/or reuse of useful material from waste generated from a process and/or from the use of any material, thereby reducing the waste destined for final disposal and to ensure environmentally sound management of all materials.

It also lays down that under Rule 3, 'Definitions' of the Hazardous Waste Management Rules 2003, E-waste in Indian context can be defined as Waste Electrical & Electronic Equipments including all components, sub-assemblies and their fractions except batteries, falling under Schedule 1, Schedule 2 and Schedule 3 of these rules. The objectives of these guidelines is to provide guidance for identification of various sources of waste electrical and electronic equipments (E-waste) and prescribed procedures for handling E-waste in an environmentally sound manner. These guidelines are reference document for the management, handling and disposal of E-waste. They provide the minimum practice required to be followed in the management of E-waste.

The Strategy

A multi-pronged strategy is required to handle the problem at various levels - individual, institutional, business, government and policy-level. Measures taken to extend the useful life-span of devices, to reuse them, and to eliminate toxic products in their composition can help in limiting the impact on the environment. Expanding the useful life-span of a device may include repairing it, upgrading it, offering it to those who require devices with less functionality, or selling it in the second-hand market. The increasingly short life-span of the electrical or electronic devices either by choice or by design results in huge waste of natural resources and the same can be avoided by extending the useful life-span. There is definite need to create public awareness on the subject and to make them also aware about not dumping the E-waste with other types of waste.

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Dr. Gursharan Singh Kainth started his career as Lecturer at Post Graduate Dept. of Economics, Government College, Gurdaspur, and later at Khalsa College; Amritsar, specializes in Quantitative & Development Economics. Has the distinction of serving Punjab Agricultural Univ, Ludhiana, for more than 2 decades and remained Director-Principal of Saint Soldier Management & Technical Institute, Jalandhar. Currently, heading GAD Institute of Development Studies, Amritsar, a self-financed research institute. Has been honoured with various awards, including Guru Draunacharya Samman, Vijay Rattan Award, etc.
Article posted on February 22, 2009.