AMC to seal factories manufacturing banned plastic

Ahmedabad: In a major crackdown on banned plastic, the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) has decided to seal factories found manufacturing prohibited plastic items within city limits. The decision was taken during Monday's meeting of the health and solid waste management committee.Officials said the civic body earlier lacked clear provisions to act against manufacturing units producing banned plastic and had largely limited enforcement to street vendors and retail shops. With the new decision, AMC will now conduct inspections of factories operating under its jurisdiction. If stocks of banned plastic are found, the factory will be sealed for 15 days.
The committee also resolved that if more than 100kg of banned plastic was detected at retail units, the premises will be sealed for 10 days.In addition, AMC has introduced a graded penalty system for shops and street vendors using banned plastic. A fine of Rs 1,000 will be imposed for the first offence, Rs 2,000 for the second, and Rs 5,000 for the third violation.AMC has enforced a ban on plastic bags thinner than 120 microns since 2016, but enforcement efforts had primarily targeted end users.