Facing flak for presenting a basket of fruits wrapped in banned plastic to Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa recently, Bengaluru Mayor Gangambike Mallikarjun said she “voluntarily” paid a fine of ₹500 for the violation.
After the photo of her presenting the basket went viral, Ms. Gangambike was criticised because there is already a ban on plastic and several traders in the city had been penalised in the past for storing and using plastic products.
“My photograph of gifting a basket of dry fruits wrapped with a plastic cover to the Chief Minister went viral in the social media. Being the first citizen of the city, I did not wish to send across a wrong message to the people of the city. Hence, I decided to pay the penalty of ₹500,” the Mayor said in a statement Saturday.
The Mayor, however, pointed out that there was no clause in the rules for penalising those using plastic though there was such a provision against traders.
She also said there was a proposal to impose a fine on the end users of plastic products and it would be incorporated in the law.
“In order to spread awareness among masses about the problems posed by polythene bags, I decided to pay the penalty even before this clause is incorporated in the plastic ban bylaw,” the Mayor said.
