CA – FEB 15 – ENVIRONMENT SNIPPETS
- Posted by CERC India
- Posted in monthly
ENVIRONMENT SNIPPETS
Set up centres to take back junked e-waste, NGT tells firms
The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has ordered all producers and manufacturers of electrical and electronic equipment (EEE) in three states, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, to set up collection centres and a system of taking back discarded electronic goods. The panel asked for setting aside 10% of advertising spend for raising awareness among consumers about proper management and handling of e-waste. NGT has given a May 26 deadline to comply with the order in the three states.
The order called for strict implementation of extended producer’s responsibility (EPR) under e-waste Rules, 2011 whereby producers and manufactures will be responsible for managing equipment after ‘end of life’ once consumers discard products.
Rs 5,000 fine for throwing puja items into Yamuna
Throwing puja offerings into the Yamuna, a ritual for many Delhiites, will now invite a fine of Rs 5,000. Dumping construction debris on the banks will cost Rs 50,000 while real estate developers have been barred from carrying out any construction on the floodplains.
These are part of the 27-point plan pronounced by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to clean up the river. Yamuna, flowing through Mathura, Vrindavan and Agra, has been reduced to a sewer canal these days, choked with piles of accumulated garbage and industrial effluents. It should be noted here that in October 2013, the Allahabad high court banned the immersion of idols in the Ganga and Yamuna at Allahabad.
Conduct noise mapping around airports: DGCA
Airport operators have to use additional mobile noise meters to monitor noise in sensitive areas such as residential and silence zones in the vicinity of airports. The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) recently issued a Civil Aviation Requirement (CAR) to contain noise around airports and mandates noise mapping in and around airports.
With the entry of new airlines, traffic in Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport (CSIA) is set to go up, increasing the noise levels, forcing the DGCA to step in. The CAR mandates carrying out a noise mapping study around airports, including the areas directly under the flight paths, assessment of the existing noise loads and the population affected, and developing a noise management action plan.
