Environmentalists, alarmed by surging demand for consumer gadgets in India, are pushing manufacturers to tackle mounting piles of hazardous electronic waste.
India's 300-million strong middle class is grabbing gadgets as global competition pushes down costs of electronics, which a decade ago were beyond the reach of many households.
"We're raising the red flag," said Vinuta Gopal, spokeswoman of the Indian chapter of environmental group Greenpeace International. "India is producing semi-conductors, manufacturing components and the computer sector is seeing a meteoric rise," she said.
India, which annually spews 146,000 tonnes of e-waste, has no specific legislation but recently widened an eight-year-old anti-pollution law to handle the problem.
"E-waste is regulated under these rules," junior environment minister N M Meena told parliament earlier this month but added that an exercise had also begun to monitor electronic garbage.
"The Central Pollution Control Board has undertaken a study for preparation of a 'guideline-document' for the sound recycling of e-waste," he said.
India's largest cities-Bangalore, Chennai, Kolkata and Delhi-alone generate 29,000 tonnes of e-waste annually, a chunk of which finds its way to smaller towns where it is cannibalised for anything of value, pollution control officials said.
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