Pollution department wants residents’ help in implementing ban

GURGAON: The pollution department has failed to keep tabs on the use of poly-pouches by tobacco companies even after receiving relevant notifications from the state government. The department said that in the past two years it had issued only 690 challans which include 319 in 2010-2011 and 371 in 2011-2012.
“We did not want to harass the small shopkeepers but have been keeping an eye on the big shops and brands, markets and outlets.We have also been looking at the multilayered plastic packets, like gutka pouches and chips packets,” said an officer of the pollution department.
The government has now divided the city into two divisions – North and South – which would have two district pollution control officers who are supposed to keep a watch on not just the sale and distribution of plastic bags but also on their production.
“The pollution department carried out raids all over the city. The department finds it difficult to keep track of outlets within the municipal limits as well as the residential sectors. The other civic agencies have the power to impose challans but they did not carry out checks and inspections despite repeated requests from the environment department,” said the officer.
“We want residents to help us if they see anyone using such poly-pouches. Alone we cannot do much. We have received the notification that tobacco products should not be sold in plastic pouches. We do not have any registered tobacco factory in the city, so we just have to keep a check on their sale,” said Balraj Singh, regional officer, Haryana State Pollution Control Board.
Residents fail to understand why the department is still struggling to get polythene banned even three years after the ban was imposed.
Despite organizing a special plastic bag eradication drive every fortnight and also organizing awareness programmes for the masses to make them aware of the hazards of plastics, the department failed to achieve the desired results.
Meanwhile, market associations have a different take on the ban. They believe that the ban only hurts the interests of the poor and is “an effort to brush the government's incompetence under the carpet”.
“Paper and cloth are not cost-effective whereas plastic bags are. They will make it difficult for a vegetable vendor to compete with big chains if one looks at the convenience to the customers. Viable alternatives should have been made available before the ban was implemented,” said a member of the market association.