The city will be made free of plastic carry bags beginning 2017, if plans of the civic authority fructify.
A meeting of the Heath Standing Committee of the Kochi Corporation, held on Wednesday, decided to evaluate similar drives taken up in cites like Bengaluru before taking a final call. The committee also decided to seek legal opinion on the legality of ban on plastic bags, as the members suggested that all carry bags, irrespective of their thickness, shall be shown the door.
Though the civic representatives had earlier toyed with the idea of banning plastic bags from November 1, the State Formation Day, the idea was dropped, as the committee members felt that elaborate awareness campaigns should be carried out before enforcing the ban. Awareness programmes should be extensively taken up and infrastructure facilities need to be arranged before imposing the ban, which will have far-reaching consequences, according to some committee members.
At the same time, the committee has asked a three-member panel, consisting of a Health Officer and two Health Inspectors, to report on various aspects of the issue within a week. Suggestions on alternative materials that could be used will also be considered. The report of the panel will be discussed at a meeting to be attended by the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor, said a Health Committee member.
At present, there is a ban on use of bags of thickness below 50 microns, which was imposed by the State government. As the views of the committee were in favour of a total ban including on those above 50 microns as prescribed by the government, the legality of such an order needs to be evaluated, according to a committee member.
The committee members were of the view that heavy fine shall be slapped on those who were found littering streets with plastic bags. Squads of the Health wing will be deployed to curb littering.
The meeting suggested that corporation workers who were engaged in collection of refuse from houses, should be asked not to collect non-segregated refuse. A meeting of representatives of traders and commercial institutions in the city will be convened to discuss the issue, it was decided.
