State proposes jail term for using plastic packaging

Mumbai: In its bid to implement the plastic ban very strictly across the state, the Maharashtra government will include a provision of three to six months’ imprisonment and a hefty fine for offenders, environment minister Ramdas Kadam told The Asian Age on Friday.

The ban will be imposed after giving people options and a proper time frame by which its use has to be phased out. “So we have decided to implement the ban from Gudi Padwa, which will be held in March next year,” he clarified.

Mr Kadam said, “The plastic ban has been well implemented in Canada and few other countries as well as in Kerala and Himachal Pradesh in our country. So I am sending four teams to study and submit a report in 15 days on the act, rules, various legal provisions, modes of implementation as well as alternative solutions offered. We will also study and make necessary amendments in the act in the upcoming session.

A time frame of 4-5 months is sufficient to discover alternatives for plastic.”

The minister also clarified, “We will enforce the law strictly, so we are making punishment of 3-6 months and or fine for repeated offenders. Initially, we will impose a fine, but habitual offenders will be sent behind bars.

So now milk in plastic bags will not be allowed. It will have to be provided in glass bottles and tetra packs. Cold drinks in plastic bottles, water bottles and use of plastic in packaging, including food items will also be banned, Mr Kadam said.

Mr Kadam also said that he would request all ministers and bureaucrats not to use plastic water bottles. “More water filters and necessary arrangements will be done at Mantralaya so as to serve water in a glass for all. It will help the environment as well as reduce expenses too,” he said.

Though the state government has decided to ban plastic water bottles in Mantralaya as part of its plan to ban plastic across the state, such bottles are preferred by ministers and top bureaucrats, even though purified water coolers an filters are available on every floor of the building. The monthly cost incurred by government toward this is around Rs 3 lakh per month. However, this is only from the Mantralaya canteen, and there is no accounting for the number of bottles purchased from outside. During the regime of the earlier government, water was served in glasses.

As per figures gathered from canteen sources, 30-40,000 small 250 ml water bottles are purchased from them every month. This bottle is sold for Rs 5 in the market while its price in the canteen is Rs 7.  Most ministers remain in Matralaya for only 5-6 days in a month. Many of them are directly purchasing from markets as well.