Do not just ban plastic; hate it, declared Bruhat Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) Commissioner H. Siddaiah, while launching a plastic-free drive in Jayanagar Assembly constituency here on Sunday.
He was speaking at the inauguration of the J.P. Nagar 4{+t}{+h} Phase Dollars Layout Residents Welfare Association.
The drive envisages a prohibition on use of plastic in educational institutions, parks and playgrounds, government and BBMP offices as well as non-governmental offices coming under the constituency. This move comes close on the heels of the BBMP announcing plans for a ban on use of plastic during the budget.
Being a resident of the area himself, he also gave the green signal for an eco-friendly garbage disposal programme in which residents will be asked to segregate dry and wet waste at their homes as the first step. There are immediate plans of introducing a conversion plant as well.
“It is absolutely necessary to look for solutions now. One must visit the Mandur and Mavallipura landfills and see the pathetic living conditions of the people,” he said and added that the garbage had negatively affected agriculture and land prices in surrounding areas.
The commissioner said the BBMP was planning on a project involving a waste convertor similar to the one in Chennai with which oil and power is generated from waste.
Mr. Siddaiah pointed out that cemented pavements affected the growth of trees. He said the cement flooring prevented infiltration of water required for the trees.
The welfare association, which was registered two weeks ago, will serve the residents of about 180 houses in the area. Among the goals listed by the association are greening of the area, restricting the number of apartments and initiating security measures.
Mayor S.K. Nataraj, who was elected from the nearby Sarakki ward, hailed the vast improvements in the area and remarked that it was partly because all the top officials lived there.
Meanwhile, reacting to a proposal by the association to bring in measures to reduce commercialisation, councillor of J.P. Nagar N. Chandrashekhar Raju said that it could not be stopped as the law provided for the same.
