Poly ban in U’khand from July 31

Chennai/Dehradun, June 5

Rising to the environmental challenge posed by rampant use of plastic, Uttarakhand has banned the use of polythene from July 31, while Tamil Nadu, Nagaland, Maharashtra and Jharkhand on Tuesday announced to become plastic-free states.

The state governments expressed their resolve to end the menace as India played global host to 2018 World Environment Day celebrations with the theme “Beat Plastic Pollution”.

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami told the state Assembly that his government would ban the use of plastic items, including non-biodegradable carry bags, from January 2019 to “gift a plastic-free” state to future generations. Plastic sachets used to pack milk, curd and oil, besides those used to wrap medical products, would be exempt, Palaniswami said in Chemnai.

Chief Minister Raghubar Das announced that Jharkhand would become a plastic-free state by June 5 next year, while Nagaland Chief Minister Neiphiu Rio set the December deadline to “free the state of plastic waste”. Maharashtra Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam said the state would be totally free of plastic in the next one year.

In Uttarakhand, CM Trivendra Singh Rawat said polythene will be banned in the state from July 31. A week before the ban, a mass awareness campaign on environmental damage caused by polythene would be undertaken in the entire state, he said.

Rawat said environment conservation was a collective responsibility and everyone would have to make their contribution to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for building a plastic-free India. — PTI