The Hindu 18.01.2012
Plastic carry bag back with a ‘ban'g in Coimbatore
After carrying out anti-plastic bag drive in May and June last year, the Coimbatore Corporation seems to have taken it easy. Sources in the Corporation say that the officials who are supposed to have taken forward the drive have been asked to focus on waste management in added areas.
Contrast the position with May-June 2011. Corporation officials, armed with the new mandate under Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rule 2011, went after traders and retails asking them to stop use of plastic bags less than 40 microns.
They asked the traders and retailers to ensure that the 40 micron-plus bags they used carried the name and address of the manufacturer and warned of seizure and penal action for violating the provision. They also asked the manufacturers to ensure that the bags they manufactured had their name and address.
The punishment the Corporation promised to mete out was fine Rs. 1 lakh and/or imprisonment up to five years. The warning and anti-plastics drive yielded results with the Corporation officials seizing nearly 5,000 kg bags in the two months.
Seven months down the line, the Corporation has initiated very little follow-up measures. The traders do not know how much to charge for plastic bags from those who do not carry one, as the Corporation has not made any announcements in this regard, says T. Parthiban of Coimbatore Plastic Traders and Manufacturers Association.
Enquiries with the Corporation sources say that the civic body is yet to pass the relevant resolution in this regard.
The return of plastic carry bags on the roads is affecting the environment, laments C.R. Jayaprakash, Executive Committee Member, Nilgris Wildlife and Environment Association. The bags first choke the canals that take water into the city's tanks. This results in inundation of low-lying areas. Then the tanks get polluted.
Senior Corporation officials were unavailable for comment.
Seven months down the line, the Corporation has initiated very little follow-up measures
