Plastic surgery for Mumbai
Bhavika Jain & Sujit Mahamulkar, HT Mumbai, December 29, 2009
The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) proposal to ban plastic bans in Mumbai is set to become a reality with the state government saying it would support the move.
Currently, bags thinner than 50 microns cannot be sold a ban imposed after the July 2005 deluge. It was found that plastic bags had choked several drains, amplifying the effect of the downpour.
Once the BMC passes the new proposal, all plastic bags would be banned.
The issue is under civic jurisdiction. We will extend all the help required to implement the ban, said Environment Secretary Valsa Nair.
The Hindustan Times was the first to report, on December 27, that the BMC was contemplating the ban. Mayor Shraddha Jadhav pushed for a total ban because the BMC was finding it tough to keep a check on bags that are thinner than 50 microns while allowing those that are thicker.
Once cleared by the BMC, the proposal would have to be sent to the state government. The government would then have to amend the law to make the ban a reality.
Nair said the Centre had also prepared a draft law to ban plastic bags across India. The state had given its suggestions and a final notification is expected soon. One of our suggestions was to increase the penalty for using plastic bags thinner than 50 microns to Rs 5,000 from the present Rs 1,000, said Nair. The Central notification will take a while to be implemented. But if the BMC decides to ban plastic bags, we can do that soon.
Between April 2008 and October 2009, the BMC seized 19,400 kg of plastic bags thinner than 50 microns. Rs 98 lakh was collected in penalties.
Jadhav said the proposal would be tabled in a meeting of party group leaders on January 2. We will discuss it on a priority basis, she said.
She added that she would encourage the use of cloth bags as an alternative and would take the opinion of plastic bag manufacturers into account.
A complete ban on plastic bags already exists in Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Kerala and Matheran. Last week, the Pune civic body also okayed such a ban.
However, Mumbai civic officials were unsure of how effective the ban would prove. Imposing penalties and punishments hasnt helped, said a civic official requesting anonymity.
According to civic statistics, Mumbai generates 8,000 metric tones of garbage every day, of which plastic accounts for 4 per cent.
source: http://www.hindustantimes.com/News-Feed/mumbai/Plastic-surgery-for-Mumbai/Article1-491574.aspx