With just two days left for the ban on single use plastic items to come into force, the government is yet to issue a notification barring the sale and manufacture of the material in the Union Territory from March 1.
The Cabinet, on January 13, decided to ban manufacture, sale and storage of single-use plastics such as plastic carry bags, plates, disposable cups, sheets, straw, expanded polystyrene foam (popularly known as thermocol) and water pouches in the Union Territory from March 1.
After the government announced the decision, the Puducherry Pollution Control Committee had invited representations from the public on the issue.
According to officials in PPCC, around 3,000 representations, including those from residents’ associations and people working in plastic industry units, were received.
After incorporating the diverse views received from public, the PPCC had submitted the draft notification to the government for its approval a few days ago.
Feedback received
While residents’ associations have welcomed the government decision to ban single use plastics, the manufactures’ association had sought relaxation in rules as they supplied the items to States such as Kerala and Karnataka, where the ban was not in force.
The association had argued that the ban would render hundreds of people jobless.
“We have included all the views and submitted the file to the government,” said a PPCC official.
Soon after the Cabinet decision was announced, several retail outlets, including hotels, had started providing alternative packaging material such as paper bags and cloth bags to their customers.
