FGG urges CM to Ban Manufacture & Marketing of Single Use Plastics

Hyderabad: M Padmanabha Reddy, president, Forum for Good Governance, has urged Chief Minister Revanth Reddy to put a ban on manufacture and marketing of SUP in the State as it causes severe damage to environment.

In a letter to the Chief Minister, Padmanabha Reddy reminded that the Government of India had instructed State Governments to prepare comprehensive Action plan to phase out single use plastics. The instructions contained in the GO could not be implemented due to various reasons. “Every department of State Government and Panchayat Raj institutions were made responsible to control the use of single use plastics (SUPs). The G.O. did not leave the unsuspecting common man also. As per rule XI (ii), the individual will be levied a penalty of Rs500 for carrying banned single use plastic items such as banners, buntings, flexes, flags, plates, cups, spoons, cling films, sheets used for spreading on dining tables and plastic carry bags less than 120 microns in thickness. How a common man knows the bags he is carrying is less than 120 microns, the GO is not realistic and not implementable. No department and local body took action to implement the GO. The better way to control the use of SUP is to put a ban on manufacturing.

Indiscriminate and unregulated use of plastics, particularly SUP is assuming alarming proposition in the State, whether it is in urban areas or rural areas, plastic carry bags, plates, tea cups and so on are found littered everywhere which ultimately find their way into storm water drains, sewage lines, chocking them leading to obstruction of flow of rainwater / sewage.

Plastic wastes which are thrown in agricultural lands and other areas remain non-biodegradable for many years affecting the recharge of ground water and soil fertility resulting drop in food grain production.