NEWS

With the growth of the city’s IT sector, e-waste menace continues to plague the city. But the authorities are yet to come up with a solution for its disposal. Pune is one of the 10 Indian cities that generate large quantities of e-waste but it is yet to set up an e-waste segregating facility or a processing plant despite efforts from the two civic bodies. While one facility has been stalled by local residents, the other is yet to get the pollution control board nod. Three months ago the Pimpri-Chichwad Municipal Corporation (PCMC) had planned a processing and recycling centre for e-waste in Moshi but the proposal is yet to get Maharashtra State Pollution Control Board (MPCB) clearance. The Pune Municipal Corporation’s (PMC) plan to set up an e-waste disposal plant at Yelewadi too ran into hurdles with local residents opposing the project. Suresh Jagtap, deputy municipal commissioner, PMC, said the civic body has dropped the plan of setting up the plant. It is trying to find an alternative solution. “Understanding the hazard posed by e-waste, the PMC had provided separate bins for dumping e-waste but the response was very poor. The process of collection and segregation of e-waste needs to be streamlined and we are working on it in consultation with experts,” said Jagtap.