Mandi, June 5
Mandi District Magistrate Arindam Chaudhary said single-use plastic items would be completely banned in Mandi district from July 1. No shopkeeper, wholesaler, retailer, hawker and street vendor would be allowed to sell or use any type of single-use plastic goods in the district.
Chaudhari issued these directions on Saturday, in exercise of the powers conferred under sub-section (1) of Section 3-A of the Non-Bio-degradable Waste (Control) Act, 1995, and it shall be fully applicable from July 1.
Single-use plastic waste has become a major threat to the environment in Himachal as it is often seen dumped in water bodies and at tourist places, marring the beauty of nature.
The DM said an important step had been taken by the state government to prevent pollution caused by plastic waste. The state government provides a minimum support price of Rs 25 per kg to a person for collection and deposit of plastic waste in collection centres of urban local bodies from rag pickers and households, he said.
The DM asked shopkeepers and wholesalers to stop the storage of single-use plastic items by June 30.
He said for the violation of orders, appropriate action would be taken against the violators under the Environment Protection Act, 1986, which includes confiscation of goods, recovery of environmental compensation and closure of operations of industries/commercial establishments.
