Green law stumps scrap metal importers Environment licensing norms being strictly enforced : Trade
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India’s imports of scrap copper brass and aluminium are being bogged down by stricter enforcement of environment licensing regulations. The legislation, which dates back to 2003, had previously been lightly enforced, but now Government officials have started to use the law more actively.
“We have told the Ministry of Environment that scrap metals like copper, brass, zinc and aluminum are not hazardous. There is no need for such regulation,” said Mr. Rohit V.Shah, President of the Bombay Metal Exchange.
Only fabricating or processing firms registered with the pollution control board can import scrap and the registration process takes months to complete. The permits are not issued to trading companies.
PAYING MORE
Mr. Shah noted that since traders cannot import, small firms who do not have the capacity to buy from overseas have to pay more for their raw materials. Scrap metal usually costs at least 20-25 per cent less than primary metal.
“More than 100 firms have stopped manufacturing because of the regulation,” he said, adding “This has happened because they had received notices from the pollution control board,”
India imports about half of the 1.2 million tonnes of scrap metal consumed annually in the country. Analysts expect scrap imports could slow 15 per cent from about the million tonnes last year.
SLOWER SHIPMENTS
“Some of the import shipments have started slowing down because of the environment regulation,: said Mr. Rafiquebhai Kothari, President of the Bombay Non-Ferrous Metals Association Ltd. He said a portion of the metal was used by companies that export handicrafts. “High material costs will affect their competitive edge,” he added.
But a Greenpeace official said the stringent import rules were needed as there was always a danger that toxic by-products would also be shipped in with the scrap metal. “Metal scrap has a hazardous nature,” said Mr. Ramapati Kumar, a Greenpeace campaigner. “If you are going to melt it and refine it here, lots of toxic materials and dangerous gases can come out.” He said scrap metal imported into India had even been traced back to debris from the collapsed World Trade Centre towers, while old ships, dismantled in India, often contained a cocktail of toxic chemicals.
‘POISON WORKES’
It can not only pollute the environment, but also poison the workers handling such metal”, Mr. Kumar said, adding that sometimes shrapnel from Bombs and explosives had been shipped in.
Metals industry officials say the scrap imports are a mix of pure metal from shredded building hardware, handicraft, utensils and household cables and other goods that have not been broken up.
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Source : Business
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