The authorities in parts of Uttarakhand seem to be taking some action against illegal mining and contamination of the Ganga river. However, observers point out that despite the high court pulling up the authorities, little is being done towards enforcing the court ordered state-wide ban on polythene in Uttarakhand. Earlier, before the high court orders prohibiting polythene in the state, the state government had during 2012 ordered a state-wide ban on polythene. Though some measures were taken periodically, the state has so far not seen effective enforcement of the ban on polythene.
It will be recalled that earlier in March, while hearing on a public interest litigation, the High Court of Uttarakhand in Nainital
had directed the state government to shut down polythene and plastic manufacturing related industries in the state. Hearing on the case, the High Court had directed the state to conduct stringent checking for polythene along the state borders and to set up crusher units for destroying plastic bottles and other polythene items at places with 3,000 population. Observers point out that the state authorities have taken some action against illegal quarrying especially after the four-month ban ordered by the high court in the recent past. However, neither the state authorities nor the urban local bodies have done much so far to enforce the ban on polythene which remains popular in the markets of the provisional state capital Dehradun and other places in the state.
When the state government had banned polythene during 2012 to prevent environmental damage, it had also ordered the formation of a State level advisory body but for the next couple of years after its formation was ordered, this body chaired by the urban development secretary could not even hold a single meeting towards discharging its task of monitoring the implementation of the ban on polythene in Uttarakhand. Environmentalists and concerned citizens among others have welcomed the recent high court decisions according living entity status to the Ganga, Yamuna, Himalayan glaciers and the water bodies originating therefrom. However, the authorities doing little concrete towards enforcing the polythene ban—considered a major component of environmental protection – if remains to be seen whether the intention to mitigate environmental damage is acted upon by the state authorities effectively in the near future.