NEW DELHI: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday directed the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and Uttar Pradesh State Pollution Control Board (UPPCB) to submit a fresh report on a plea alleging that 5,000 illegal e-waste processing units are operating in and around Delhi.
A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel ordered that the report be filed by DPCC in coordination with the District Magistrates of East and North East Delhi concerning the areas in Delhi, UPPCB, and Ghaziabad District Magistrate before April 23.
The direction came after perusing a report filed by the DPCC which said that the Central Pollution Control Board had convened a meeting of all stakeholders to discuss the findings of the study undertaken by an NGO, Toxics Link, and to discuss ways to stop unauthorised e-waste recycling units.
The pollution monitoring body told the NGT that nine teams were constituted to carry out inspections of the areas falling in different districts to identify illegal e-waste storage and handling units for their effective closure. DPCC took action on its own against illegal e-waste handling units in old Seelampur area and closed 57 premises effectively in July 2019, it said.
The tribunal, however, asked DPCC to file a fresh action report. The e-waste hotspots are located in Northeastern and Eastern parts of Delhi, including areas such as Seelampur (Shahadra), Mustafabad (North East Delhi), Behta Hazipur and Lone (Ghaziabad). Seelampur alone accounts for about 57 per cent all e-waste informal processing units.