HYDERABAD: Despite a ban on the use of plastic covers of below 50 microns density, the usage of such harmful plastic continues to be rampant across the city, the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation’s (GHMC) crackdown against grocery stores and vendors using banned plastic has revealed.
In a special drive conducted on Tuesday and Wednesday, the civic body seized nearly 550 kgs of plastic covers and imposed a total penalty of Rs 1.6 lakh on store owners found using carry bags of the banned low-density plastic.
According to civic officials, on Wednesday they seized about 25kgs of banned plastic bags from grocery store owners and hawkers in areas like Jubilee Hills and Qutbullapur, they recovered about 10kgs of plastic bags from LB Nagar.
On Tuesday, similar inspections were carried out in
Kukatpally circle, among others, and banned plastic bags of below 50 microns seized.
The civic body has, meanwhile, also appealed to all political parties and public representatives to join hands with GHMC in maintaining a pollution-free city by desisting from putting up banners and flexies.
“Its high time the long running practice of erecting flexies should stop. These days some people are also resorting to erecting flexies on occasions like birthdays. They can celebrate but should not pollute the environment,” said GHMC commsiosner B Janardhan Reddy.
As a part of the civic body’s drive to curb the usage of harmful plastics,
Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) leaders G Nagendra and V Mohan Reddy have been slapped with a penalty of Rs 15,000 each for erecting unauthorised hoardings at TRS Bhavan.
Interestingly, while checking for banned plastic in meat stores, civic officials also found many establishments running their stores without the requisite trade licence and selling unstamped meat kept in unhygienic conditions.
The defaulters have been booked under Sections 487, 539, 548 & 596 of the GHMC Act, 1955.
Though as of today only plastic carry bags below 50 microns are banned in the city, the civic body had, in its latest
general body meeting held earlier this year, unanimously passed a resolution to ban usage of all plastics, even those above 50 microns density with exemptions proposed to be made only for dairy sector and some other products. However, the state government is yet to take a final call on the move.
Incidentally, the Modi government plans to completely ban the use of one-time use plastic products like water bottles, cups, plastic plates by 2022.
