Despite ban, use of plastic carry bags widespread in city

LUDHIANA: Despite directions issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), and a ban on the manufacture and sale of plastic carry bags, civic authorities have failed to check their use in the city markets. Recently too, CPCB had issued directions to the civic authorities to take suitable action, and send the report to the board by April 25, but officials had failed to carry out intense drives.
City-based RTI activist Rohit Sabharwal had made a complaint to the CPCB over this issue, after which the latter had asked the municipal corporation (MC) and Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) — through a letter on April 9 — to send an ‘action taken report’ on the issue.

The Punjab Plastic Carry Bags (Manufacture, Usage, and Disposal) Control Act, 2005, was implemented by the state government on February 18, 2016. The ban was supposed to come into effect from April 1, 2016, and under it, there was a complete ban on manufacturing, stocking, distributing, recycling, selling, or using plastic carry bags within the limits of MC, municipal councils, and nagar panchayats in the state. However, officials conducted a few challaning drives in the beginning, but now, nobody was taking the drives seriously.

Sabharwal, in his complaint, said: “Here in the city, one can easily find plastic carry bags being openly used in each corner of the city. Thus, it is evident that MC has badly failed in implementing the act.” He added that plastic carry bags were destroying the atmosphere of the city and health of the residents. MC commissioner Jaskiran Singh said the civic body was short of staff, and therefore, the drives had slowed down, but they would again start intense challan drives against plastic carry bag sellers and users in the city.

However, PPCB chief engineer Pradeep Gupta said they were responsible for checking the manufacture of plastic carry bags in the city, and conduct routine checks. He said plastic carry bags being sold in the city were coming from other states, which MC was responsible for checking. Gupta also said PPCB would soon introduce bio-degradable carry bags through some suppliers.