E-waste on Ramganga banks has toxic chemicals: Panel to NGT

New Delhi: E-waste lying on the banks of the Ramganga river in Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh contains hazardous chemicals such as chromium and cadmium, a committee has told the National Green Tribunal.

The committee, comprising officials of the UP Pollution Control Board (UPPCB), Moradabad Nagar Nigam, UP Public Works Department and the UP Rural Engineering Services, told the tribunal that the concentration of metals in the e-waste, which was in the form of black powder, was above the prescribed level.

The committee was formed by the NGT.

"The UP Pollution Control Board collected samples of e- waste from four locations -- Lalbagh, Dashwanghat, Nawabpura and Barbwalan. The samples were analysed by Indian Institute of Toxicology Research...

"The analysis report indicated presence of chromium, cadmium, copper, lead, nickel, manganese and zinc in the black powder. The concentration of metals in the black powder is above the threshold limit as specified in Schedule-II of the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016, thus rendering the dumped black powder as hazardous waste," the report said.

The committee said the UPPCB has initiated the process of inviting technical experts for on-site remediation of the black powder lying on the banks through low-cost treatment. The bench noted that the Ramganga river is highly polluted.