Environment, health hazards looming large despite prohibition
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Aug 28: Though polythene bags are continuously posing environmental and health hazards yet the concerned Government agencies have failed to strictly enforce ban which otherwise has been imposed in Jammu and Kashmir twice during the past nine years. The prevailing situation is that neither the Urban Local Bodies nor the field functionaries of the Rural Development Department have been taking required steps to implement the decision.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that following repeated directions from the High Court, the Forest Department vide SRO-182 dated June 18, 2008 imposed ban on the polythene carry bags within the territorial limits of Jammu and Kashmir. This was done by the Forest Department while exercising the powers conferred by Sub-Section (3) of Section 7 of the Jammu and Kashmir State Non-Biodegradable Material (Management Handling and Disposal) Act, 2007.
However, the Forest Department remained content with the issuance of SRO-182 instead of taking all the required steps to enforce the ban as a result of which there was no perceptible change in containing environmental hazards caused by the polythene bags, sources said, adding the slackness of the Government in enforcing the ban also came under severe criticism from the Division Bench of the High Court when the grave issue was highlighted before it through Public Interest Litigation.
In the month of November 2013, a Division Bench of Justice Mohammad Yaqoob Mir and Justice Muzaffar Hussain Attar, while expressing displeasure over the menace of polythene still plaguing the State, directed for initiating several measures, which included strict market checking by the teams under the direct supervision of District Magistrates.
Even Committee on Environment of State Legislature in the year 2013 had recommended a complete ban on the use of polythene throughout the State.
On April 3, 2017, Minister for Forest and Environment convened a hurriedly called press-conference and announced that Government has put a blanket ban on polythene bags manufactured below 50 microns with immediate effect and all possible measures will be taken to prevent State’s environment and ecology getting polluted. He even announced that directions have been passed to all concerned departments for strict implementation of the ban.
“Initially, all the concerned agencies showed keen interest in enforcing ban but with the passage of time they lost interest as a result of which banned polythene bags are still available in the market and being used by shopkeepers, vendors and others albeit not openly”, official sources said.
As per the Plastic Waste Management and Handling Rules, the Urban Local Bodies-Municipal Corporations, Municipal Committees and Municipal Councils are required to enforce ban on polythene by conducting raids, searches and market checking. Similarly, in the rural areas of the State, Rural Development Department is required to enforce ban through its field functionaries. After seizure of banned polythene bags, these agencies are required to hand over the same to J&K Pollution Control Board, which thereafter get the shredding of the polythene bags conducted before putting the same to auction for recycling.
“Initially, we received some quantity of seized polythene bags from these agencies but during the past quite some time they have completely stopped giving us seized bags, which clearly establishes that there is no focus on strict enforcement of ban”, sources in the Pollution Control Board said while not ruling out presence of huge quantity of banned polythene bags in the market.
Responding to a question, they said, “the banned polythene bags are being seized only at Lakhanpur and by the teams of Pollution Control Board on the basis of specific information”, adding “since PCB doesn’t have manpower like the ULBs and Rural Development Department as such it is not possible for Board to conduct extensive market checking”.
They admitted that polythene bags are continuously posing serious threat to environment and health in the length and breadth of Jammu and Kashmir despite imposition of ban twice. “Unless large scale drive is conducted by all the concerned agencies the situation cannot improve”, they added.
“How can the Urban Local Bodies feel content with whatever exercise their field functionaries have conducted till date when huge quantity of banned polythene bags is seen in the heaps of garbage in urban areas every morning”, sources asked.
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