Fictitious importers dump hazardous waste due to lack of regulatory mechanisms

Frame law to force shipping lines to re-export waste to country of origin: official

C Shivakumar

Chennai:

More than 32 to 40 containers containing hazardous waste enter Indian ports each year due to lack of regulatory mechanisms, according to a senior customs official.

Speaking to Express on the sidelines of National conclave on Shipping 2012 here on Monday, Additional Commissioner of Customs N J Kumaresh said that India is being used as a dumpyard due to lack of regulatory mechanisms to contain hazardous consignment which are imported in the country under fictitious importers.

“When these consignments are caught, the fictitious importers abandon the cargo and the shipping lines shirk off the responsibility,” he said, stressing the need for a framework to make the shipping lines responsible to carry the waste back to the country of origin.

He said that India is a signatory of Basel Convention, which prohibits developed countries to dump waste in developing countries. Interestingly, the country also has The Hazardous Wastes (Management,Handling and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2008 to implement the Basel convention but there is a need for a regulatory framework on fixing the responsibility on who is to be blamed for importing the waste into India.

He said that department of revenue intelligence has booked several cases after confiscating containers containing hazardous wastes, like municipal waste, medical waste, waste oil and scrap. “But no action could be taken as they have no idea as to who will pay the dues,” says Kumaresh.

Interestingly, many countries are using small Islands across the Indian Ocean to crush the car waste before importing it as a scrap. Kumaresh said that in western countries, the wastes are segregated and the polluter has to pay an exorbitant fee. “This has forced the firms to look for cheaper sites to evade the charges,” he said.

When Express contacted the Union Shipping Minister G K Vasan, he said the ports have been advised to take stringent action against those dumping hazardous waste. “Ministry of Environment and Forest is responsible for it,” said the minister.

Chennai Port trust chairman Atulya Mishra said once in a while the port comes across such cargos and it is trying to curb such practices. But Kumaresh says unless the ministry of finance or shipping ministry comes with regulations to make the shipping lines re-export the hazardous cargo to the country of origin, the wastes will continue to be dumped in the country.