perspective
What a Waste! Will the Government lead by example? Prasann Thatte
India is estimated to be generating approximately 400,000 tons of electronic waste annually (computers, mobile phone and television only). This is expected to grow at a rate of 10-15% per year (Source: www.toxicslink.org). By 2020, the country’s e-Waste from old computers will jump 500% from 2007 levels as per the recent Report of the United Nations Environment Programme. What makes the problem far worse is that except the Hazardous Waste Management Rules of 2003, there is no law governing the management of e-Waste in India. Even the guidelines framed by the Ministry of Environment and Forestes in May 2008 are only ‘intended to provide a broad guidance’. But facts like these, though frightening, only tell the more familiar part of the story. An oft-neglected aspect of the problem is that the focus of discussion is almost entirely on the industry and retail consumers - the major users of computer hardware – followed by the unorganised sector involved in the collection, recycling and processing of such waste, mainly because of the hazardous working conditions existing there. Meanwhile, the third arm of the triangle – government assumes the position of a mere regulator and policy-maker. While it is true that the government’s role is primarily one of introducing stricter legislation, encouraging organised recycling of e-Waste, collecting fee from manufacturers/consumers for its disposal, subsidising and incentivising the small units involved in recycling industry, and generating public awareness on the subject, it can hardly be ignored that the Government is no longer merely a regulator of the Information Technology sector. It is also an increasingly important user of technologies and consumables. The rollout of an ambitious National
e-Governance Plan (NeGP) in the year 2006 further reinforces this. Available data suggests that government sector IT spending in 2007 was of the order of Rs. 5800 crore and is expected to grow rapidly. More than half of this spending was directed towards hardware, which directly contributes to the generation of e-Waste. In this backdrop, it is indeed surprising that the implementation framework in place for NeGP does nothing to commit the Government to the principle of effective e-Waste management. Compare this with what the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) asks of the US government on this subject. While highlighting that only 61 out of thousands of federal facilities participate in what in US is called the Federal Electronics Challenge, it says: “the federal government (should) lead
by example in promoting recycling, reducing the use of toxic chemicals, and conserving energy and materials in its lifecycle management of electronic products”, as per US GAO Report of November 2005. It is important for the government in India – at the centre and in states – to clean up its act fast, considering that government institutions, together with business enterprises, account for over 70% of e-Waste generation and are responsible for much of the damage. Besides, compared to developed countries, governments in India are still far from attaining a stage of full computerisation. The percentage of government schools with computers stands at a mere 8.5% in 2006-07, as a report published by Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India and the National University of Educational Planning and egov
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