Left with no lasting solution to plastic menace, the Kochi Corporation has decided to strictly enforce the prevailing State-wide blanket ban on use of plastic carry bags below 50 microns from Friday before banning plastic carry bags completely from August 15.

The decision came at the end of a hostile council meeting on Thursday when the corporation came under attack over the imbroglio in waste management in the wake of the fire outbreak at the civic body’s solid waste treatment plant at Brahmapuram and its “lethargic” enforcement of the ban on plastic carry bags below 50 microns.

Opposition councillor V.P. Chandran slammed the corporation for doing precious little to implement the State-wide ban on use of plastic carry bags below 50 microns. C.K. Peter, another Opposition councillor, said the corporation health wing had failed to enforce the ban on plastic carry bags though the civic body had announced it more than once.

He said apart from a namesake inspection conducted sporadically, there was no determined effort to enforce the ban with purpose.

New gauge metres

Mayor Soumini Jain said the corporation had purchased nearly 10 plastic gauge metres to overcome the shortage of the equipment. “The health supervisor has been asked to conduct surprise checks at shops and take stringent action against those found guilty of using banned plastic carry bags,” she added.

With the city beginning to stink from piled-up garbage heaps and the stalemate over waste collection not yet been resolved in the wake of the fire outbreak at Brahmapuram, the Opposition had a go at the ruling dispensation following which the Mayor convened an all-party meeting on Friday to discuss ways on resolving the crisis.

Report sought

The council directed the town planning committee to submit a report on the alleged illegal constructions at the six-storey godown in the city that caught fire last month.

The superintendenting engineer told the council that the building, which was granted a commercial licence, had illegal constructions, including the tress work on roof-top.

Leader of the Opposition K.J. Antony also sought an income and expense statement on the Ro-Ro jhankar service operated on the Fort Kochi-Vypeen route.