Mayor Thottathil Raveendran has said that each shop within the Kozhikode Municipal Corporation limit will be fined ₹50,000 if they violate the ban on plastic carry bags. He was responding to a calling attention motion presented by Independent councillor Nirmala at the corporation council meeting on Wednesday.
The Corporation has collected ₹2.75 lakh as fine from shops in the city over the past fifteen days for the use of plastic carry bags.
The Mayor said the Health wing of the Corporation had been conducting regular inspections in shops.
Ms. Nirmala had expressed apprehensions over the corporation’s plastic ban policy as shops were still using such bags. Also, the auditoriums that had been warned against using disposable plates and cups were not complying with norms, she alleged. She added that used plastic was being increasingly dumped on the roadside.
The Mayor said the Corporation had plans to set up plastic shredding units. Shredded plastic constituted 10% of the ingredients used for road construction, he added.
Street lights defunct
Bharatiya Janata Party councillor Navya Haridas pointed out that street lights in some parts of Karapparamba ward were not functioning despite sending repeated reminders to the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB). The Mayor said the KSEB had a standing instruction to ensure the working of all street lights. He said that the KSEB had promised that all street lights would be fully functional by August 31.
JD(U) councillor Thomas Mathew raised the issue of scarcity of parking space while UDF councillor S.V.S.M. Shameel complained that biodegradable waste was not being collected from his ward.
