The Hindu Business Line : Plastic bags on their way out in Maharashtra

PLASTIC bags, in all likelihood, will be the first casualty after the July 26 rains and the resultant flooding in Mumbai and the other parts of the State. The Maharashtra Government has set in motion the process to ban the use of plastic bags in the State.

The decision seems to have been triggered by numerous complaints of choked drainage and storm water drains due to plastic bags.

The clogged drainage system greatly added to the water logging in Mumbai on July 26, said the Chief Minister, Mr Vilasrao Deshmukh, on Wednesday. He was addressing the media after the weekly Cabinet meeting.

"Mumbai city alone suffered losses of around Rs 3,000 to Rs 4,000 crore, including damages to railway, transport infrastructure, life and property, in the recent floods due to choking of drains because of plastic bags, which also had its effect on public health," Mr Deshmukh said.

The State Government has given 30 days for all the affected parties to come up with suggestions and complaints. A final decision would be taken thereafter. The requisite order would be issued in a day or two, said Mr Deshmukh.

Shop-keepers, traders, small retailers and hawkers using plastic bags will be fined Rs 5,000 or asked to pay a fine in proportion to the stock of such bags found with them. A third time offender could face a three-month imprisonment. Similarly, people using plastic bags would be fined Rs 1,000. The ban will be enforced through municipal authorities, who will carry out raids, said Mr Deshmukh.

However, this is not the first time that Mumbai is banning plastic bags. The previous occasion was the 1998 monsoon rains that flooded the city. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) passed a resolution to ban plastics, only to retract it a few days later on the grounds that such a ban would adversely affect numerous workers in the plastics industry. It was then alleged that the powerful plastics manufacturers body had spiked the ban.

"In fact, the issue of banning plastic bags had come up in the Maharashtra Assembly in 1998. At that time, the BMC removed as much as 15 tonnes of plastic bags from Matunga to free the choked storm water drainage. In 1999, as per a notification, plastic below 20 micron thickness was banned," said Mr M.R. Shah, former Chief Engineer, Solid Waste Management, BMC.

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
UltraTech Cement allots Rs 600 cr for captive power plants

Rupee slides to 3-mth low on fall in FII inflow

Chidambaram tables quarterly review in Parliament — `Subsidies will add to fiscal burden'

Gross tax collections rise 26 pc in Q1

TCG-Bengal Govt fallout precedes IOC's induction into Haldia Petro

Equity participation in projects — HPCL mulls `chain offer' concept

Plastic bags on their way out in Maharashtra

Bharti ties up with AXA for life insurance venture