The recent move of the District administration to ensure an effective enforcement of the ban on polythene seems to have been affecting negatively with the official machinery going busy for the budget session in Vidhan Sabha.
The district magistrate Dr BVRC Purushottam had earlier also stated that stringent action would be taken against traders defying the polythene ban, but it is openly being flouted in the State capital. In order to make the town polythene free the DM had recently held a meeting with some senior officials of the Municipal Corporation of Dehradun (MCD) and other departments concerned to plan the effective enforcement of the ban on polythene.
He had then asked the senior city health officer at MCD, Dr RK Singh to play an active role in the anti-polythene drive and provide required number of vehicles for enforcing the drive effectively. It must be mentioned here that the MCD and district administration had difference of opinion regarding the onus for enforcing the polythene ban. The DM had earlier blamed the MCD for not providing any assistance in enforcing the ban while Mukhya Nagar Adhikari at MCD, Ashok Kumar had said that the corporation had always extended its support and deputed municipal staff whenever needed by the district administration. Purushottam had earlier also declared that criminal cases would be filed against traders flouting the polythene ban but apparently this has not been done yet.
The media can play a better role in checking whether the ban is being effectively implemented, said the DM. It should be noted here that similar enforcement drives undertaken in the past were discontinued soon due to resources and efforts being diverted for Assembly session, disaster relief and other important tasks.