As the Devendra Fadnavis dispensation enforced a near total ban on plastic across Maharashtra on Saturday, the civic authorities in Mumbai, Thane, Nashik, Pune and Nagpur came down heavily on shopkeepers and a section of other violators , imposing fines on them and seizing huge stocks of plastic items from them.
The ban, which evoked mixed response from the general public and small shopkeepers, involves a wide range of plastic items like plastic bags, plastic cutlery and thermocol.
In the raids conducted in Nashik, the authorities imposed fines amounting to Rs 3,70 lakh and seized 350 kilograms of plastic from different places. In Pune, the civic authorities seized 3,000 kilograms of plastic from 12 shopkeepers and imposed hefty fines on the shopkeepers across the city for possession of the banned plastic items. In Nagpur, the authorities imposed fines amounting to Rs 1.75 lakh
Even in Mumbai and adoi9ning Thane, the search operation was in full swing all through day. On its part, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has formed a team of 250 blue marshals who went around the downtown south Mumbai areas like the Crawford Market and the busy Colaba areas.
With the Ganesh festival a few months away, a sizeable number of residents have not taken kindly to the ban on decorative items made out of plastic and thermocol.
Under the plastic ban, first time violators will have to pay Rs 5,000, while the second time violators will have to shell ouit Rs 10,000. For the third time violation, there is a fine of Rs 25,000 and an imprisonment of three months –an action that the law enforcers are planning under Section 9 of the Maharashtra Non-Biodegradable Garbage Control Act, 2006.
The items have been banned from use are plastic carry bags, thermocol dishes, thermocol decoration items, Disposable cutlery, plates, bowls, spoons and non-woven polypropylene bags.
What has not gone well with the people is the mandate that the authorities would take down the Aadhaar or PAN numbers of all those violating the plastic ban. This is being done to identify the repeat offenders are identified. In the case of erring shops and establishments, the authorities would not down their licence numbers.
“The intention of the ban is to ensure responsible use of plastic,” Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said.
“We have the law and necessary guidelines and we would take necessary action,” state Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam said
The exact impact of plastic ban on the shopkeepers, hoteliers and people from different walks of life is expected to be known in the couple weeks.