A growing menace

E-waste disposal norms should not be relaxed

With just a fraction of the estimated two million tonnes of electronic waste (e-waste), such as discarded computers, phones and batteries,  generated annually being disposed of safely, this hazardous refuse is getting accumulated in the country at an alarming pace, causing grave concern for public health and environment. Most of the discarded and age-expired electronic and electrical gadgets either remain stacked in the offices and homes or are sold to junk dealers to be ultimately recycled in the unorganised sector in a crude and clumsy manner, which causes more harm than the unprocessed items. More worryingly, a sizeable part of