Referring to the directions of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that had set a deadline of November 1 to make Kalaburagi district free from plastic, Deputy Commissioner R. Venkatesh Kumar told the officials to hold a special drive to enforce the plastic ban order and punish violators with maximum penalty.
He was reviewing implementation of the ban order and directions of the NGT at a meeting of district-level officers here on Thursday.
The NGT, in its review meeting presided over by its State-level Committee chairman Subhash B. Adi in the second week of July in Kalaburagi, expressed its discontentment over poor implementation of the plastic ban order and waste management in the district and set a deadline of November 1 to make the district free from plastic.
“We need to adopt a strategy to spread awareness among plastic users on the one hand, and punish repeated offenders, particularly manufacturers and suppliers of plastic material as well as shopkeepers who give banned plastic material to customers,” he said adding that the civic bodies, including the Municipal Corporation, had a vital role to play in spreading awareness and punishing the violators.
Pointing to the key areas such as wedding halls, hotels and religious places where banned plastic was used in bulk and solid waste without segregation was generated in large quantity, Mr. Kumar advised the enforcing officials to focus on such places taking the assistance of the police. He also directed the officials to strictly implement the NGT directions on the disposal and reuse of construction and demolition waste.
“Making the district free from plastic and converting it into a clean and green place is not possible by the establishment alone. People’s active participation is imperative too. We need to involve civil society groups and individuals who are working on environmental issues,” he said.
