The Hindu 26.07.2012
Ban on plastic poorly implemented in Mandya
Plastic bags of less than 40 micron thickness still in use
The programme to ban plastic carry bags of less than 40 micron thickness has failed here.
To make the city environment-friendly, the Mandya City Municipal Council banned the sale of such plastic bags across the city in 2011.
The ban has made manufacturing, storage, import, sale and transport of plastic bags illegal. Violators can be prosecuted under Section 15 of the Environment Protection Act, which prescribes imprisonment for five years or a penalty of up to Rs. 1 lakh, or both. However, the CMC has restricted itself to only imposing fines in the range of Rs. 100 and Rs. 300.
Though the law permits cancellation of trade licences of violators, not even one licence has been cancelled by the CMC so far.
16 lakh bags a day
Mandya has at least 4,000 shops, including supermarkets. They sell or give customers at least 16 lakh plastic bags every day, said a supplier of plastic bags on V.V. Road.
While small shopkeepers use at least 200 plastic bags, supermarkets and big shops use as many as 600 plastic bags a day, he said.
“The Mandya CMC has failed to tackle the issue” T.S. Sathyananda, spokesman for the Mandya District Congress Committee, said.
Meanwhile, officials at the Mandya CMC said that Rs. 30,000 had been collected as penalty from shopkeepers for violating the ban.
“With a view to keeping the town clean and hygienic, we banned the sale, storage and use of plastic bags,” S. Prakash, CMC Commissioner, told The Hindu . According to him, councillors themselves objected to the drive against the sale of plastic bags of less than 40 micron thickness .
“We raised the issue at the CMC meet recently as we continuously faced objections from the councillors. In future, we will invite the councillors to take part in our drive against the plastic bags menace,” Mr. Prakash said.
Under the ban, foodstuffs cannot be packed in plastic material. However, hoteliers are still using plastic bags of less than 40 microns thickness.Mr. Prakash urged hoteliers and trade establishments to cooperate with the CMC to implement the ban effectively.
As efforts to tackle the issue have failed so far, the CMC has decided to re-launch the drive.Besides eradicating the menace of plastic carry bags from the city, the CMC would also create awareness among the public, said a health inspector.
Squads
The CMC plans to deploy squads across the city to check the use of such plastic carry bags.“We will issue advisories through the media and seek cooperation from shopkeepers. The CMC will give enough time to commercial establishments to clear the stock of carry bags [that they have already acquired],” he said.
Besides issuing directions to shops and commercial establishments to use plastic carry bags that are thicker than 40 microns, the CMC would cancel the trade licences of violators, Mr. Prakash said.
- Violators can be jailed or fined up to Rs. 1 lakh
- CMC has not cancelled trade licence of any violator so far
