BHUBANESWAR:Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi on Tuesday asked Housing and Urban Development (H&UD) Department to implement e-waste management drive on the lines of ‘Clean E-Bhubaneswar’ in major cities across the State.
Speaking at a workshop to mark ‘Clean E-Bhubaneswar’ drive’s completion of one year here on Tuesday, the chief secretary said, “E-waste has become a major problem for cities in the country as hazardous material and chemicals used in gadgets such as mobile phones, computers and other electronic devices pose a serious threat to the environment in the absence of a mechanism to ensure their proper disposal.”
Padhi said programmes like ‘Clean E-Bhubaneswar’ help in dealing with such issues. “The Housing and Urban Development Department should now include other urban centres of the State under a similar programme to manage e-waste”, he added. The chief secretary said Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) ‘Clean E-Bhubaneswar’ drive has enabled the formal sector to collect and properly dispose of tonnes of e-waste in a short span of time. “9 tonnes of e-waste has been collected in the city under the drive which is a big achievement,” he said.
Padhi said Bhubaneswar is one of the best performers among the five major cities in the country where e-waste management drive has been implemented.BMC officials said e-waste collected from various firms this year was channelised to certified formal recyclers through partner Producer Responsibility Organisations (PRO)s which helped in minimising the hazard of toxic chemicals in the Capital. They added in the last one year, 74 awareness and door-to-door campaigns have been carried out in the city and this will be expedited in the future. As many as 100 institutions/organisations were felicitated by BMC at the event to recognise their contribution towards making ‘Clean E-Bhubaneswar’ a success. The civic body’s initiative was hailed by Ambassador of the European Union to India Tomasz Kozlowski. The workshop was organised by BMC in collaboration with International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of World Bank Group and other stake holders.