Ban on single-use plastic: Chandigarh to launch crackdown during festival season

Dushyant Singh Pundir

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 16

The Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee (CPCC) has geared up to launch a crackdown on shopkeepers selling or using single-use plastic during the festival season.

Debendra Dalai, Member Secretary, CPCC, said, “Ahead of the festival season, we will issue an advisory on Monday to all sweets shops in the city against using the banned single-use plastic. We will also give the shopkeepers a handout with colourful photographs of the banned items.” He added that strict action would be initiated against any shopkeeper found flouting the norms. He said the committee would start taking action only after creating awareness.

Dalai said the possibility of using single use-plastic increased during the festival season. He said there were around 56 major sweets shops in the city. During the festival season, they would launch a campaign to make the owners of small shops and stalls aware about the banned single-use plastic, he added.

In September 2019, the UT Administration had imposed a ban on single-use plastic items, including cutlery, thermocol or styrofoam cutlery, containers, sealed drinking water glasses, single-use razors, single-use pens, thermocol for decoration purpose and plastic material for decoration purpose such as wrapping sheets, frills, garland, confetti, plastic ribbons, etc.

In its directions, the National Green Tribunal had stated that any person found using, storing, purchasing, dealing with or distributing plastic bags, plastic plates or plastic glasses and such allied items would be liable to pay an environmental compensation at the rate of Rs5,000 per event.

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