Crackdown on plastic bags usage: PPCB, MC raid 80 shops in city

Ludhiana: Mission Tandrust Punjab director Kahn Singh Pannu on Sunday said a campaign against manufacturing of banned polythene bags will begin from Monday under which raids and surprise checks of shops, factories and units will be conducted. He added that along with imposing fine, the erring manufacturing units will also be sealed.
He said on Saturday, state-wide raids were conducted by joint teams of Punjab Pollution Control Board (PPCB) and the Department of Local Bodies to monitor the efficacy of ban on plastic bags. Giving details, he said, “Surprise checks were made at nearly 500 shops and units revealing over 200 violations in Punjab. In Ludhiana alone, 80 raids were conducted on shops and other establishments out of which 45 were found violating the rules and 385kg polythene bags were confiscated in the entire operation. 32 challans were issued on the spot and fine worth Rs 17,500 was collected from the violators in Ludhiana 1, Ludhiana 2 and Ludhiana 3 divisions while fine will be imposed on violtors in Ludhiana 4 area after a hearing is held by the MC.”
Pannu also said the departmental teams collected a total of Rs 1 lakh as fine in entire Punjab and issued 179 challans statewide. “As many as 4000kg of plastic bags were confiscated during the raids in Punjab with nearly 1100 kgs from district Fatehgarh Sahib alone. As per sub-section 2 of Section 7 of the Punjab Plastic Carry Bags (Manufacture, Usage and Disposal) Control Act, 2005, Government of Punjab has already completely prohibited manufacturing, stocking, distribution, recycling, sale and use of plastic carry bags in the in the state.” He added that PPCB is authorized to take action against the units manufacturing and storing plastic bags.
Pannu also said it has been observed that despite the ban, use of plastic bags is still rampant in Punjab, which is a gross violation of the law and a serious environmental hazard. So, a special drive has been initiated to ensure strict compliance of the law.