Officials conducting a raid on a plastic godown in Puducherry on Thursday.— Photo: T. Singaravelou

Officials of the Science and Technology Department on Thursday conducted a raid on a local plastic godown, where they found banned plastic bags worth Rs. 10 lakh. The bags were all of 50 microns or less in thickness.

The godown, which is located in a residential area in T.V. Nagar, was raided after around 15 days of tracking. Authorities have sealed the area and will be issuing a notice to the owner on Friday, tahsildar M.S. Ramesh told The Hindu . This was the first raid and the department would conduct raids on units that manufacture these bags. The department had identified offenders in Puducherry, he said. Plastic bags of under 50 microns were banned in Puducherry in 2009.

Under the Environment Protection Act of 1986, offenders could be imprisoned for up to five years or be slapped a fine of Rs. 1 lakh , or both, he said.