Karnataka: With new web application, Pollution Control Board hopes to track industrial waste better

While KSPCB estimates that there around 5,000 industry players (including small-scale) active across the state, over 40% of them are said to be in Bengaluru alone.

In a bid to make tracking of hazardous waste from industries easier, the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) recently launched a web-based application. Called E-Manifest, the application is also expected to encourage accountability among industries and increase transparency of the entire process.

Speaking to Indianexpress.com, KSPCB Member Secretary Srinivasulu said that the new IT-based initiative would simplify the current process. “Until now, returns and records under the Hazardous Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2016, were received and processed manually, making it a tedious process,” he said.

While KSPCB estimates that there around 5,000 industry players (including small-scale) active across the state, over 40% of them are said to be in Bengaluru alone. “Several areas in Peenya, and Jigani have been termed critically polluted already and various steps are to be taken to keep pollution in check,” Srinivasulu said.

With the new initiative up and running since April 1, KSPCB officials said that over 250 registrations have taken place in the first few days itself. “The board will ensure hand-holding of all those involved in the waste disposal process to ensure all stakeholders are familiarised with the process soon,” a senior official added.

Meanwhile, Srinivasulu added that the new system in place would also minimise chances of forgery. “When seven different copies of the same manifesto declared by any industry were issued manually, chances of mismatches were high. Cross-checking and verifying each document at different points were also making the process tedious. With all this now on an online platform, analysis of such important data has been also made easier,” Srinivasulu noted.

Next up, KSPCB plans to embed GPS technology to step up possibilities of the E-Manifest initiative. “While GPS enables us to know where vehicles carrying hazardous wastes are, tailoring this application to it would give us an idea of what each vehicle carries as well,” the Member Secretary remarked.

The Manifest is a shipping document, prepared and signed by the authorised sender, that travels along with the hazardous waste from the point of generation to the final treatment, storage, and disposal facility.

The new online application, however, requires a one-time approval from the regional office. Post-approval, industry registration will be verified, after which details of registered industries are made available online on KSPCB’s web portal.

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