NEW DELHI: The movement against the ban on plastic in India has met with a bump on the road as officials have confirmed that the imposition of a blanket ban on the manufacturing of single use plastics is not on the books. The ban will not be imposed as the measure is seen as too disruptive for the industry at a time when it is coping with an economic slowdown and job losses.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) directed all the states and Union territories (UTs) that there would not be any immediate ban on plastic items. Instead, the ministry asked state urban departments and urban local bodies to strengthen plastic waste management by improvising on existing waste management systems. According to officials, the government would instead be focusing on making sure that the existing norms against storing, manufacturing and using some single-use plastic products such as polythene bags and styrofoam are properly enforced.
“Getting rid of single-use plastic by 2022 will be the second phase of Swachh Bharat”, Prakash Javadekar, Environment Minister said on October 3. He also added that the government will be conducting a mega public-outreach program in the next three years to achieve the target.