Polythene ban remains largely ineffective in State

| | Dehradun
  • 0

Polythene ban remains largely ineffective in State

Saturday, 20 October 2018 | PNS | Dehradun

Despite directions from the High Court on more than one occasion, followed by repeated instructions from the Chief Minister, the ban on polythene in the State has remained largely ineffective. The authorities concerned have failed to strictly enforce the ban on polythene and polystyrene disposables even in the provisional State capital Dehradun.

It will be recalled that following High Court orders, Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat had, earlier, announced that the polythene ban would be enforced strictly across the State from August 1 this year. The municipal corporation and district administration undertook some routine activities as part of measures for enforcing the ban.

Attempts were made to raise public awareness and those found violating the polythene ban were penalised. However, such actions did not continue effectively for long.

As a result of this, though there has been some partial effect of such efforts, the general public in Dehradun and most of the traders have continued to use the banned polythene bags as they were using these items before the ban was put in place.

Officials have the usual response to queries regarding implementation of polythene ban. They stress on the need for raising public awareness while adding that drives to penalise violators of the ban and seize the banned items are being undertaken regularly. Meanwhile, observers opine that the authorities have so far not taken effective measures seriously to enforce the polythene ban.

The supply of the banned items has not been checked and the ban has not been enforced effectively even within the Government establishment. Due to this, it is not uncommon to see government employees also using the banned polythene bags. With the urban local body elections to be held across the State in the near future, the focus of the authorities will be on facilitating the polls.

At the same time, the use of the banned polythene for various purposes is also expected to rise during the polls as seen during such activities. With the officials concerned neither acting on nor even talking of the polythene ban, it remains to be seen whether the ban will be acted upon or forgotten like other regulations and restrictions being flouted with impunity in Dehradun and elsewhere in the State.

Sunday Edition

CAA PASSPORT TO FREEDOM

24 March 2024 | Kumar Chellappan | Agenda

CHENNAI EXPRESS IN GURUGRAM

24 March 2024 | Pawan Soni | Agenda

The Way of Bengal

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

The Pizza Philosopher

24 March 2024 | Shobori Ganguli | Agenda

Astroturf | Lord Shiva calls for all-inclusiveness

24 March 2024 | Bharat Bhushan Padmadeo | Agenda

Interconnected narrative l Forest conservation l Agriculture l Food security

24 March 2024 | BKP Sinha/ Arvind K jha | Agenda