Chennai, Mar 21 (PTI) The Greater Chennai Corporation is proposing to cancel the licenses issued to the shops and other establishments, which continue to sell banned plastic items in the city.
A submission to this effect was made by Greater Chennai Corporation Commissioner Gagandep Singh Bedi, in his counter-affidavit filed before the Madras High Court on Monday.
The counter was filed in response to a writ petition from the Tamil Nadu and Puducherry Plastic Manufacturers Association, challenging an order of the Tamil Nadu government issued in June 2018, banning production and sale of 14 types of plastic items from January 1, 2019.
The counter stated that from August 19, 2021 to March 18 this year, a total of 47,961 shops were inspected and 20,056 kg of banned plastics were seized and Rs 36.50 lakh was collected towards penalties. Meetings with the stake-holders and awareness programmes were being conducted.
The Corporation staff, especially the Sanitary Inspectors, had been asked to go for daily checks of shops and establishments where there is still possibility of use of single use plastics. The shops that repeatedly sell their goods in single use plastic carry bags will be liable for their trade licenses cancellation, besides closure and sealing. It is the endeavor of GCC to go for daily checks, seizures, finding of violators and closures/sealing of defaulting establishments besides other measures.
At the same time, GCC will promote proactively the use of plastic alternatives to ensure a healthy environment for the city. It was also intensifying its drive to separate plastic from its legacy waste in the dumping grounds, bail it into cuboidal compacted blocks and send it to the pyrolysis burners of cement factories, so as to reduce the plastics in the soil and legacy waste. Already this process is being pursued and it will be intensified further by the Corporation.
A division bench of Justices S Vaidyanathan and P T Asha, before which the counter was filed today, pointed out that the banned plastic items are still in use. Directing the authorities to tighten its vigil in border areas and implement the ban more effectively, the bench adjourned the matter to June. PTI CORR SA SA
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Source: The Print
