plastic biggest threat, lack of substitutes forces its usage: Fadnavis

Maharashtras Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Tuesday termed singleuse plastic as the biggest threat to the environment and rued that lack of substitutes makes states to permit its usage reported news agency PTISpeaking at an event organised by Balrampur Chini Mills in Mumbai Fadnavis said states including Maharashtra have banned singleuse plastic but added that half of the plastic people use continues to be singleuse oneToday since there are no sustainable solutions for exports for packaging we still have to permit use of singleuse plastic And I think today the biggest threat to our environment is this singleuse plastic Fadnavis said reported PTIThe Chief Minister also invited Balrampur Chini Mills to invest in Maharashtra pointing out that the company already has 10 plants in Uttar Pradesh Fadnavis also quipped that he will speak to UP counterpart Yogi Adityanath to allow the company to invest in MaharashtraFadnavis said the sugar industry presents continued challenges for policymakers and added that the presence of fair and remunerative price sometimes results in situations where the remuneration for raw material is more than the selling price of finished product because the prices are influenced by global markets while domestic considerations weigh on deciding the FRP to farmers reported PTIThere are challenges even when there is an excess production of sugar and the urge to manage retail prices domestically leads to export curbs on the commodity he saidBalrampur Chini Mills on Tuesday launched Indias first Poly Lactic acid PLA brand Balrampur Bioyug and termed it as an advancement in biopolymer manufacturing and sustainable industrial practices reported PTIThe company will be investing Rs 2850 crore to set up a PLA plant next to its existing facility in Uttar Pradeshs KumbhiMeanwhile Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed officials to ensure that financial aid is provided to people affected by heavy rains in the state his cabinet colleague Chandrashekhar Bawankule said on TuesdayBawankule the state revenue minister said affected citizens including farmers would be compensated as per norms set by the National Disaster Response Fund NDRF and the State Disaster Response Fund SDRFPeople who lost their houses or crops due to heavy rains should receive financial assistance These were the orders of Chief Minister Fadnavis he told reportersA comprehensive presentation on the damage caused by the recent downpour was made before the state cabinet Bawankule addedWith inputs from PTIatOptionskeyd0ddb8ef8f1a62a8cdd22fac27fc5ea7formatiframeheight90width728params