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Informist, Tuesday, Jul. 8, 2025

 

NEW DELHI – The government on Tuesday asked the Delhi High Court to dismiss petitions filed by Havells India Ltd., Voltas Ltd., LG Electronics India Ltd. and Samsung India Electronics Pvt. Ltd. against the waste management rules, saying that the petitioners have not provided any evidence of arbitrariness in the government's decision-making process and the companies have been part of the stakeholder discussions since 2021. 

 

The high court was hearing petitions against rules relating to the imposition of environmental compensation for non-fulfilment of E-Waste Management Rules, 2022 and Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016. The petitioners have also contested the increased payouts to electronic waste recyclers.  

 

"... the present petitions are purely driven by commercial considerations related to cost rather than any legitimate legal grievances," the government told the high court. There is no presumption of violation, and environmental compensation will only be levied in cases where non-compliance is detected through audits or inspections. The environmental compensation will not be automatic, and a due procedure of law will be followed before its imposition, the government said.

 

The petitioners have challenged rules 15(9) and 15(10) of the E-Waste Management Rules, 2022, which were amended in 2024. These rules establish a mechanism for producers to fulfil their extended producer responsibility obligations through the purchase and sale of certificates, with the Central Pollution Control Board ensuring that the value of these certificates reflects the environmental impact of e-waste management. The petitioners have also challenged some clauses of the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, Battery Waste Management Rules, 2022, and the Environmental Compensation Guidelines.

 

The new rules mandate a minimum payment of INR 22 per kilogram to recycle consumer electronics. The petitioners have said that this will roughly triple their costs and benefit recyclers at their expense, as the new prices were 5-15 times the price currently paid by them.

 

According to the petition, the government, through amendments, introduced a floor price and a ceiling price for the exchange of extended producer responsibility certificates and erroneously linked the exchange price of these certificates to the environmental compensation to be levied only in the event of a default by a producer. The rules "fail to take into consideration that merely by fleecing companies and taxing them in the name of the 'polluter pays principle', the (government) objectives sought to be achieved cannot be achieved," the petitioners said.

 

The government is not fixing the price of certificates but merely establishing lower and upper limits to prevent market distortions and ensure responsible recycling, the government said. Producers may trade the certificates at any price between these limits. Further, environmental compensation is only used as a reference for setting these price limits and does not constitute an enforced charge on producers, the government said.  

 

On Tuesday, shares of Havells India ended 0.4% lower at INR 1,532.10 on the National Stock Exchange, while those of Voltas ended 0.4% higher at INR 1,371.20.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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