Mumbai plastic ban from June 23: Here's what you need to know

Experts from BMC seek to dispel paranoia over ban that will hit from Saturday

Paranoia and questions on plastic reigned at the Together VCan's Social Sanchar meet for a conversation with Dr P Anbalagan, IAS member secretary, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board and Nidhi Choudhari, IAS, Dy Municipal Commissioner (Special), BMC, on the topic 'Understanding the Plastic Ban' at the Royal Bombay Yacht Club on Thursday. VCan is a citizen's action network. The Anchorage Hall was packed to the rafters before 4 pm, attesting to the high interest the plastic ban has garnered.

Is banned
Dr Anbalagan said, "We have years of experimentation and research behind us and we thought this was the right time to bring in restrictions and become more stringent about plastic. Plastic carry bags are banned and so are single use plastic items such as disposable plastic cutlery." The official said certain exemptions were made, like plastic PET bottles. A gent in the audience scoffed, “They are exempt because plastic bottle manufacturers are making a huge noise." Guffaws greeted this, an indication of the cynicism prevalent in the city. "Thermacol decorations are also banned," Dr Anbalagan added, to a rapt audience. "Certain packaging for shampoo, oil, ghee is exempt and plastic bags manufactured for export are also exempt,” he said, to some confusion. The audience spanning school students, to salt 'n' pepper haired working persons and grey haired retirees was frowning, concentrating hard on what he was saying.

The audience at the Royal Bombay Yacht Club (RBYC) holding up plastic items they were confused about

Raising awareness
Choudhari admitted that people were still confused about the ban, but stressed that there were at least, "37 collection centres for plastic across the city and we also have 24 vans running the length and breadth of the city for plastic collection." The well-spoken officer said the authorities have been making huge efforts to raise awareness. “We have held training programmes for a certain segment on how to make paper and cloth bags, we have held street plays and used social media to create awareness. I must stress that our collection vans have already collected 1,42,000 kg of banned plastic since they have started running through homes and societies," she said. The audience though was interested in how the ban would affect them.

Same side
Choudhari also sought to address the question of fines. Exclamations went up as she outlined fines of Rs 5,000 for a first-time offence, Rs 10,000 for a second-time offence and Rs 25,000 plus a three-month jail term for a third repeat." She claimed that there would be authorised personnel with valid ID cards and an authority letter, wearing an easily identifiable waistcoat, who would penalise offenders." She sought to allay fears saying, "The BMC and the people are on the same side. Together we can mitigate Mumbai's problems like floods.”

Waving bags
There were so many questions that Mukherjee had to repeatedly ask people not to shout. People had brought along a number of items for clarity. A woman showed a plastic cap worn in the food industry (one-time use cap) which experts said, was allowed. There was a question about, "What if the duty-free goods at airports are given in plastic bags, will we be allowed to exit?” and others like, "how will you be able to stop corruption with these fines, what if people do not have the money to pay, will there be challans?” Some were murmuring fiercely, “This is all because of the inefficiency of the BMC.” As the audience traipsed out, one gent was overheard saying, "This is going to be a farce and will soon be withdrawn as elections near,” proving that forget filling their plastic collection vans, officials have a huge trust deficit to fill first.

Also Read: Mumbai plastic ban: Even before implementation, BMC wants to reduce fines from Rs 5000 to Rs 200

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