Plastic bag ban to reach panchayats

biswabrata goswami

2 December 2011

TAMLUK, 2 DEC: Concerned about the widespread use of plastic carrier bags and the resulting environmental pollution across the state, the West Bengal government recently issued a notification extending the ban on the use of plastic carrier bags less than 40 microns thick down to the level of panchayats across the state.
Before this most recent announcement, the plastic carry bags ban had been issued in all municipal and corporation areas in the state; the state government now seems to have felt the needs to deal with this problem at the panchayat level, said Mr Mamud Hossain, saha-sabhadhipati of East Midnapore zilla-parishad.
“This time, the environment department is serious about enforcing the law with the help of panchayats," said Mr Hossain. "And it has directed the panchayats to enforce this ban in a month’s time." Mr ML Meena, principal secretary of the state environment department and chairman of the state Plastic Management Committee has therefore issued an order asking all panchayat authorities to work with the police to impose spot fines on offenders.
According to the rules, traders using banned plastic will be fined Rs 500 while their customers will be fined Rs 50.
A panchayat samity member in Tamluk said that it would take a joint effort to deal with the problem: "It is practically impossible for panchayats alone to enforce the ban. The police must take action. Although the law has a provision to impose spot fines on offenders, there is some confusion about this."
"Waste management is the biggest problem and people living in villages have no proper knowledge about the problem. So awareness should be created, before imposing fines," he said. "Tackling the problem, though, is an urgent priority. People should dispose of the waste they generate at their houses by adopting technologies developed by various agencies."
Mr Hossain said, “The government is also working on a plan to phase out plastic carrier bags, which should be replaced by bags made of degradable materials. The problem of waste management in big cities is not of the same nature as that in panchayats. High-end technologies are now being considered by cities such as Kolkata to manage the problem."
Pointing out that some states had already banned the use of plastic carrier bags, an official at the West Bengal Pollution Control Board (WBPCB) said that the indiscriminate use of the bags clogs the drainage system and leads to water-logging and floods. “Plastic waste also prevents the natural aeration of the land and water bodies and hampers agriculture and pisciculture. Coloured or recycled plastic carry bags are hazardous to human health. Even animals die by inadvertently ingesting plastic carrier bags,” the officer said.
The WBPCB had already banned the use of these bags of any kind in ecologically sensitive areas like the Sunderbans, coastal and forest areas in the state and the district of Darjeeling. Heritage sites and 50 metres off the bank of the Ganga river is also off-limits for the bags. Bu the recent effort to extend the ban to the level of panchayats will not only improve the situation but also create awareness among the rural populace, said the WBPCB officer.