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The West Bengal government in collaboration with the Centre will set up e-waste dismantling facilities in the State on a public private partnership (PPP) basis.
According to Mr Raj Pal Singh Kahlon, Principal Secretary, State Environment department, the State government has already shortlisted two companies – the Kolkata-based West Bengal Waste Management Ltd and the Surat-based Gujarat Enviro Protection and Infrastructure Ltd – for setting up the units.
Gujarat Enviro is a prominent player in solid waste management and has an existing facility at Durgapur in West Bengal.
Stake-holding
The selected private party will hold 50 per cent stake in the projects, estimated to cost Rs 12.5 crore each, followed by 25 per cent each by the State and the Union governments.
E-waste refers to discarded electrical or electronic devices. E-waste dismantling and recycling means dismantling the equipment into various parts such as metal frames, power supplies, circuit boards and plastics. The dismantled parts are recycled.
“DPRs have been submitted and they are expected to be cleared by June this year. Both the units will be set up near Kolkata,” Mr Kahlon told Business Line on the sidelines of a symposium organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
State Support
Gujarat Enviro on its part confirmed submission of the DPR but added that State support was required for projects to materialise. “We need help from the State government in terms of funding,” Mr Mudin Tapali, general manager (Projects), Gujarat Enviro, said.
The company is planning similar facilities in Surat and Silvasa.
Waste generation
Officially, the State has no e-waste dismantling facility though some unorganised units operate in scattered manner. The e-waste at present finds its way to scrap dealers and later to the backyards where they are dismantled and materials such as copper, lead, gold, iron, aluminium and plastic recovered through crude methods.
The remaining waste ends up in municipal dumps with the toxins seeping into groundwater.
According to officials of the State Environment department, the Kolkata Metropolitan Area (KMA) generates 26,000 tonnes of e-waste, of which nearly 10,000 tonnes are recyclable. However, only 2,000 tonnes are recycled annually.
The report also projected that e-waste generation is likely to increase to 1,44,000 tonnes by the year 2020.
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