Mysuru, April 4: In a bid to make the city of palaces plastic-free with the strict ban of plastics from April 5, the district administration plans to distribute 15 lakh cloth bags to seven lakh houses.
In a statement, Deputy Commissioner Rohini Sindhuri said, “The enforcement of the plastic ban will be in place from April 5. The Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, are in place to reduce plastic. But, it was not implemented effectively. Thus, plastic menace still exists.”
The rampant use of plastic is affecting the environment. For effective implementation and to encourage the people to shun plastics, it is decided to give two cloth bags to each house, across the district. A total of 14,69,810 cloth bags will be distributed among 7,34,905 households. Karnataka Handloom Development Corporation will supply eco-friendly bags, the DC said.
MCC Commissioner Shilpa Nag said, “As per the Solid Waste Management Rules, there is a provision to impose a fine against the violators. We can impose a fine. But, the fine amount is very less. We are planning to revise the fine amount to check on the use of banned plastic. The MCC officials conduct raids regularly against bulk sellers. From now onwards, individuals and retailers will also be under the scanner.”
There are 2.09 lakh families and 10,500 houses in slum-like areas in the city. Five and ten kg bags will be given to all houses to induce behavioral change among residents. Corporators, zonal commissioners
political leaders, volunteers, and non-government organizations will be roped in for the purpose,” the commissioner added. (UNI)