PANJIM: It’s more than a month that the E-waste Management and Handling Rules, 2012 - notified by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests and the Central Pollution Control (CPCB), Govt of India, has come into force, but till date barely 1% of e-waste manufacturers and users have woken up to the reality of the new regulations.

The e-waste handling rules, which came into effect from May 1, 2012, through a gazette notification on May 12, 2011 - has come fixing the responsibility on all stakeholders including mainly manufacturers, retailers and consumers.

Operation Blossom Spring first taken up at Periye

Authorities started the process of detoxifying endosulfan stocked in three warehouses of the Plantation Corporation of Kerala here on Sunday. Operation Blossom Spring was first taken up at the warehouse at Periye, transferring 914.55 litres of the pesticide in six corroded barrels to high-density polyethylene barrels. A team of personnel from Hindustan Insecticide Ltd. and the Kerala State Pollution Control Board and medical experts did the highly delicate transfer.

Bench gave the orders on a PIL initiated by S. Viswanathan, an advocate, against the authorities. Burning of garbage in Pallikaranai should be stopped immediately, the Madras High Court ordered on Friday.

A major fire broke out in the garbage dumping yard in Pallikaranai last Saturday, and thick smoke emanating from it has affected the environment in Velachery, Perungudi, Madipakkam, Taramani and other areas over the past few days.

The public hearing for environment clearance for the proposed 1,320 MW power plant of Sahara India Power Corporation Ltd, was conducted successfully by the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) near Titlagarh in Bolangir district recently.

Over 300 locals from nearby villages attended the public hearing. The additional district magistrate, government officials, officials of SPCB, local leaders, company officials and representatives of all villages were present during the hearing.

Pollution Control Board steps up drive on e-waste

The next time you go to buy a laptop or a hard disk at one of those swanky showrooms, chances are that the salesperson would, besides telling you the features of the device, also give you detailed instructions on how to discard the equipment and the contact details of their collection centres. If she does not do so, you might have to ask for them, because according to the E-waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011,

Real time data to be displayed near monitoring stations

The State Pollution Control Board hopes to set up continuous (online) ambient air and water quality monitoring stations along the Periyar River within a month. The objective of the initiative is to scientifically analyse the source of pollution of the river besides ascertaining those responsible for such incidents. Board Chairman K. Sajeevan told The Hindu that work on establishing the stations is fast progressing. “We expect to complete the work within a month. All analysers will work round-the-clock. Real time data will be displayed at prominent public places near each station, he said.

A month after the deadline to install GPS in vehicles transporting hazardous waste in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam has passed, the devices are yet to be installed. Andhra Pradesh Pollution Control Board (APPCB) had in March asked the authorities to install GPS devices on these vehicles and link them to the Board’s server within two months.

The decision, taken during the tenure of Dana Kishore as member-secretary of APPCB, was seen as a means to link updates of handling and disposal as also enable constant monitoring of treatment, storage and disposal Facilities (TSDF) of hazardous wastes in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam.

A total 10 illegal dyeing units that were polluting water bodies and River Cauvery at villages near Pallipalayam in Tiruchengode Taluk, were demolished during a raid that was conducted there on Wednesday.

The eviction drive was jointly organised by officials of the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), TANGEDCO and Police at Aavathipalayam, Manalmedu and Samayasangili near Pallipalayam.

The joint team of State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) and the district administration on Monday visited the Lajkura open cast project of Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd (MCL).

The Coimbatore Corporation has not submitted Form II to the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), in which it has to mention details about its solid waste management project.

The TNPCB has said this in response to a Right To Information query filed by V. Eswaran, the district secretary of the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam. Submission of Form II, according to the Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, is mandatory.