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Delhi govt imposes blanket ban on plastic; implication on food packaging uncertain
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Wednesday, 06 April, 2011, 08 : 00 AM [IST]
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Irum Khan, New Delhi
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Delhi government has imposed a blanket ban on the manufacture, sale, storage and use of plastic in the national capital, which was a long-pending demand of the green groups.
The ban, which had been imposed under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, in January 2009, had not given the desired results and it also did not include manufacturing activities.
It implicated imprisonment up to five years and fine of up to Rs 1 lakh or both for violators.
However, paying no heed to the ban many continued with the blatant use of plastics, thus violating the regulation almost universally.
Thus, the state cabinet at a meeting presided by chief minister Sheila Dikshit took the decision to impose a ban on manufacture, sale, storage and usage of plastic bags in the national capital under Section-5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
A senior official said that the government would issue a notification in a few days' time to implement the cabinet decision.
Currently, around 400 plastic bag manufacturing units are operating in the city and the total yearly turnover of these units is in the range of Rs 800 crore to Rs 1,000 crore, an industry expert said.
However, whether food-grade plastic would also come under the purview of the ban is yet to be known. According to an industry-source, the decision to banning plastic in food packaging would be too far-fetched because plastic has been used for years together in the food & beverage industry. "We will have to wait for the final notification to decide on our next step," added the source.
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