The use, sale or stocking of any type of disposable plates, cups or packing material made of plastic or polystyrene (thermocol) has been banned with immediate effect in the entire state of Uttarakhand. In observance of orders passed by the High Court of Uttarakhand in Nainital, in the writ petition- lalit Miglani versus Uttarakhand state and others, the chief secretary has issued a government order dated January 11, 2017, directing that the prohibition be enforced stringently. In order to raise public awareness regarding this, notices will be pasted on all commercial institutions, bus stations, hotels, dhabas, Dharmshala, Ashram, guest houses, schools and all Government offices. In addition to this, the message will be conveyed to the public through the means of loudspeakers and street plays which will also elicit the cooperation of the public in ensuring effective observance of the prohibition. In the Government order issued by the office of the chief secretary, it has also been stated that in case of violation of the above stated prohibition a penalty amounting to ` 5,000 will be imposed on the individual concerned. For the effective implementation of the prohibition, the municipal commissioner, executive officer will be responsible in the city area, chief executive officer of district council will be responsible in the rural areas and the divisional forest officer concerned will be responsible for the same in the forest areas.
While welcoming the development, skeptics point out that polythene bags and the disposable dishes and cups in question had been banned across the state during 2012 under the tenure of Vijay Bahuguna as the chief minister. Affected by various factors including lack of clarity, weak political will and citizens unaware of their civic responsibilities, the polythene ban has so far remained a grey area with the use of the proscribed items made from polythene and polystyrene rising consistently across the state.