The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Tuesday asked the Delhi government to explore a disposal mechanism for the nearly 8,000 kilograms of plastic of less than 50 microns thickness that was seized by authorities following its ban.
A Bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Swatanter Kumar, which did not pass any observation, said the AAP government should find out ways to get rid of the non-biodegradable material. The green panel observed that such a huge quantity of plastic could also be sent to waste-to-energy plants for scrapping.
Hearing on Sept 5
The matter is posted for hearing on September 5.
Earlier, the city government had said that ₹3 lakh had been collected as fine following the prohibition imposed by the green panel.
On August 10, the NGT had imposed an interim ban on plastic in the city and announced that a penalty of ₹5,000 would be slapped on violators.
7,000 kg plastic seized
“According to reports submitted by various departments, a total of 7,739 kg of plastic carry bags [less than 50 microns] has been seized, 492 challans have been issued and a total of ₹2.9 lakh has been realised as environment compensation,” the government had said in a statement.
The NGT had directed the Delhi Pollution Control Committee to seize the entire stock of such plastic within one week from the day of the ban.
