Govt to await High Court orders on plastic ban

Mumbai: Although the high court (HC) and the state government had issued June 23 as the deadline for implementing the plastic ban and disposing stored plastic, the government may wait for HC directions. Plastic manufacturers have submitted their representation regarding problems in alternative arrangements to the government’s high-power committee, and asked members to implement the provisions of the law.

The BMC and other local bodies have been preparing to take action but the matter is pending before the high court. The court has not granted a stay on the ban. State environment minister Ramdas Kadam told The Asian Age, “The matter is pending before the court and we will follow the court orders.”

The Plastic Manufacturers Association and others had filed a petition in the HC, challenging the ban. Their grouse was that the government had not given alternatives to plastic, manufacturers had a stock of products, and they were never consulted. Thereafter, the government appointed a high-power committee under the environment minister. Hiten Bheda, president, Plastic Manufacturers’ Association, said, “We have made a representation before the committee and raised our issues. The association has made necessary efforts and asked the members to abide by the provisions of law. Many practical difficulties will arise while implementing the law because of the hefty fine of Rs 5,000 to Rs 50,000, and imprisonment for three months is serious.”