For the past two years, a Jalandhar-based NGO Anti-Plastic Pollution Action Group (AGAPP) has led a grueling campaign against plastic pollution and has been fighting the cause at the highest level.
Group activists, including co-founder Navneet Bhullar and president Pallavi Khanna, have written to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann asking him to intervene in eliminating the manufacture, sale and distribution of plastic tote bags, including non-woven bags and single-use plastics.
They wrote: “The Punjab government in 2016 amended the Punjab Plastic Tote Bags Control Act 2005 to completely prohibit the manufacture, storage, distribution, recycling, sale or use of plastic tote bags and Containers. Disposable single-use plastic cups, spoons, forks and straws, etc. after the notification in this regard. The Ministry of Local Government, Ministry of Rural Development and Panchayat have accordingly made their respective jurisdictions effective from 1 April 2016 A total ban on the use of plastic tote bags in China. But the ban was never enforced.
This is the third communique issued by the NGO to the Punjab government.They had written to former CM Capt Amarinder Singh in December 2020 and January 2021.The municipal corporation commissioner has ordered health officials to start campaigns, but nothing has started, according to NGO activists.
On February 5, 2021, AGAPP members organized a workshop at the PPCB office in Jalandhar, inviting plastic tote bag manufacturers.Joint Commissioner MC was present.There have been proposals to reduce GST on compostable plastic bags and to open starch supply factories in Punjab (the starch to make these bags must be imported from Korea and Germany).PPCB officials promised AGAPP that they would write to the state government, but Bhullar said nothing came of it.
When AGAPP started work in 2020, there were 4 compostable plastic bag manufacturers in Punjab, but now there is only one due to high government fees and no demand (because no ban was enforced).
From November 2021 to May 2022, AGAPP will hold weekly protests outside the offices of the municipal corporation Jalandhar.The NGO has been making some recommendations to the government, including phasing out all plastic tote bags produced by PPCB in Punjab and inspecting their shipments into Punjab from outside.
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Post time: Jul-02-2022