More than a year after the High Court of Uttarakhand banned polythene bags, plastic and polystyrene (thermocol) disposables in the state, members of the business fraternity in Dehradun and elsewhere are still confused about the prohibition. A number of traders in the provisional state capital still believe that polythene bags measures more than 40 microns are not prohibited whereas the ban on polythene is applicable irrespective of the thickness.
Since the authorities stepped up enforcement of the polythene ban in Dehradun from April 1, the Municipal Cooperation of Dehradun has collected about Rs 6,00,000 in penalty from those found violating the prohibition. However, lack of awareness has continued to fuel confusion regarding the prohibition especially about the prohibition.
A shopkeeper at Paltan Bazaar, Vinod Kumar said, “ We are all aware of the polythene ban imposed in the state which is why we are using polythene bags thicker than 40 microns even though they are costlier. All the suppliers are distributing and selling these polythene bags now and most of the big shopkeepers too are buying these,” he said.
On the other hand, the additional municipal commissioner Neeraj Joshi said that the prohibition is applicable to all polythene bags. He said, “There is no relaxation on the use of polythene bags measuring more than 40 microns. All polythene bags and thermocol disposables are banned which means any shopkeeper found using or selling these items will have to pay a penalty. It is unfortunate that the public doesn’t seem to care about the rules which has resulted in lack of awareness. We are trying to spread as much awareness as we can. Also, I would like to request people and voluntary organisations to come together and work in spreading proper awareness about the ban,” he added.
The Dehradun municipal commissioner Vijay Kumar Jogdande informed, “We are conducting a regular drive to enforce the polythene ban. We have already collected Rs 6 lakh in penalty and the drive is still continuing.
We are going to strengthen the enforcement of the prohibition in the coming days,” he said.