Bhopal, Aug 31 The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday ordered the constitution of a committee to probe allegations of unscientific disposal and open burning of e-waste in Bhopal.
The tribunal's Central Zone Bench here issued the direction while hearing an application by Nitin Saxena raising concerns over the alleged improper disposal and processing of electronic waste in the state capital.
The committee will comprise representatives from the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change's Regional Office in Bhopal, Central Pollution Control Board, Madhya Pradesh Health Department, Electrical and Electronics Department and the Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board (MPPCB), the order said.
The committee should submit an action-taken report within four weeks, the NGT said, adding that the MPPCB will be the nodal agency for coordination and logistical support.
The tribunal also issued notices to the Bhopal District Magistrate, MPPCB Member Secretary and Municipal Commissioner along with the Principal Secretaries of the Environment Department, Electrical and Electronics Department and the Health Department.
The respondents must submit their replies within four weeks, said the bench of Judicial Member Justice Sheo Kumar Singh and Expert Member Sudhir Kumar Chaturvedi.
Saxena alleged in his plea before the NGT that much of the e-waste generated in Bhopal is is processed at unauthorised scrap units, and the burning of e-waste in the open could release toxic substances and heavy metals such as lead, mercury, cadmium and chromium, contaminating air, water and soil and posing risks to human health.
An estimated 5,000 tonnes of e-waste is generated in Madhya Pradesh every year, a ten-fold rise since 2019, the application said.
Further hearing will be held on October 1.
