The Times of India 26.07.2012
Kolkata Municipal Corporation revives anti-plastic war
renewed vigour. On Wednesday, it led a surprise raid at Gariahat market
and unsurprisingly, caught as many as 50 traders with plastic carry bags
that did not meet the standards approved by the state environment
department. Each had to shell out Rs 500 as penalty.Customers were spared a fine this time though West Bengal Pollution Control Board rules say that the Kolkata Municipal Corporation
(KMC) can levy a fine of Rs 50 on someone who accepts a ‘banned’ carry
bag. In future, the civic body plans to levy a fine on customers too if
they refuse to pay heed to the ban.
“Our teams will carry out
more such surprise raids across city markets. Awareness drives will
continue apart from the penal action that will be taken,” said Sanchita
Mandal, the mayor-in-council member overseeing the KMC environment
department.For raising awareness, the KMC has roped in several
NGOs. Though it plans to undertake the drive across the city, it will
begin from major municipal markets like the Manicktala-VIP Market,
Manicktala Market, College Street Market, New Market, Lansdowne Market,
Gariahat Market and Bansdroni Market. The awareness drive will begin
from next week.
According to plans, the first three days of the
campaign will focus on making traders and customers aware of the plastic
menace. If they refuse to comply, a ‘penalty drive’ will follow the
awareness drive. “We will start with appealing to both customers and the
traders to shun plastic carry bags below 40 micron thickness, which are
banned under West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) rules. If they
don’t follow our order, we will be forced to levy penalty according to
rules,” said Mondal.
To spread the message, the civic body has
roped in Prosenjit. A 40 second ad film on ‘plastic menace’ featuring
the popular Bengali film actor will be shown in the major municipal
markets, said the MMiC. The KMC will also take the help of FM radio
channels to spread awareness.
According to rules, the KMC can
levy Rs 500 penalty on a shopkeeper for using plastic carry bags below
40 micron. The civic body will slap a fine of Rs 50 on the buyers for
using the same plastic bags.
This is not the first time the KMC
is launching an anti-plastic drive in the city. A survey of city markets
showed that while vendors in some have responded to the KMC’s appeal to
shun ‘banned’ plastic bags, shopkeepers in some other major markets are
yet to take a lesson.
“We have got good response from
shopkeepers and customers at Jadavpur Market. But traders at Gariahat
Market are yet to learn a lesson,” said a KMC market department
official. Besides the municipal markets, some of the city’s wholesale
markets will also be raided to put a check on the use of banned plastic
bags, a KMC official said.