Centre’s Ban On Single-Use Plastic Lacks Preparation: Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai

New Delhi: The Centre did not prepare enough to provide people alternatives and shift manufacturing units to green options before banning single-use plastic and the curb cannot be imposed forcibly, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai has said. He also claimed the Union government did not even call a meeting of state environment ministers before the ban came into force.

I think it (announcement of the ban) lacked preparation. Stakeholders should have been told about alternatives and the government’s support (provided) to help them shift to the green options. I think these issues should have been resolved before announcing the ban, Mr Rai told PTI in an interview.

Also Read: Delhi Government Forms Enforcement Teams To Monitor Single-Use Plastic Ban

The minister said raw materials for alternatives to single-use plastic items attract high GST, which makes the product unviable for people.

The GST rate on green alternatives and their raw material should have been slashed before the implementation of the ban. The central government was required to prepare a proper mechanism. The curb cannot be enforced forcibly, he said.

Besides drafting laws, the governments in states and at the Centre need to work on options available if they want to stop plastic pollution, the minister said.

Our government organised a three-day fair at the Thyagraj Stadium to promote alternatives to single-use plastic items. We got to know that units manufacturing such items are willing to shift to alternatives, but it takes long (around a year) to obtain necessary permissions. Till then, the machinery and the factory will be rendered useless. What will happen to the labour during the waiting period? he asked.

Such units require permission from the Central Pollution Control Board. The application needs to be submitted with a report from the Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering which tests compostable plastic.

The institute takes around six months to conduct the tests and there is a waiting period of over six months on average. Mr Rai had recently written to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, requesting him to authorise more laboratories to test compostable products.

Also Read: Single-Use Plastic Ban In India Explained: What Will Be The Challenges And What Should We Expect?

To spread awareness about the ban on single-use plastic items, the Delhi government will impart training to the members of eco-clubs in the capital.

The training programme will be conducted on July 19 in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme.

There are around 2,000 eco-clubs in Delhi.

In a bid to reduce plastic pollution, India has banned 19 single-use plastic items, including earbuds, plastic sticks for balloons, flags, candy sticks, ice-cream sticks, polystyrene (thermocol), plates, cups, glasses, forks, spoons, knives, straws, trays, wrapping or packaging films around sweets boxes, invitation cards, cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners of less than 100 microns and stirrers.

Plastic carry bags of thickness less than 75 microns are also prohibited under the Plastic Waste Management Rules. Their thickness will have to be increased to 120 microns from December 31.

Also Read: COP26: What Is Climate Change Adaptation, And Why Is It Important For Human Survival? 

Plastic wrapping material less than 50 microns in thickness and plastic sachets used for selling and storing tobacco, pan masala and gutkha are also not allowed. Delhi generates 1,060 tonnes of plastic waste per day. Single-use plastic is estimated to be 5.6 per cent (or 56 kg per metric tonnes) of the total solid waste in the national capital.

Mr Rai had on Tuesday written a letter to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, requesting her to slash GST rates on alternatives to SUP items and their raw material to help their penetration in the market.

Representatives of units manufacturing green alternatives said that jute and canvas attract a GST rate of 5 per cent and 18 per cent respectively.

Products made of recycled newspaper attract an 8 per cent GST, a representative of the Narela Plastic Welfare Association said.

While plastic products are subject to an import charge of 10 percent to 20 percent, bio-plastic attracts an importation rate of more than 40 percent, Mr Rai said.

Also Read: Single-Use Plastic Ban From July 1: What Are The Banned Items, Changes And Penalty Amount?

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol have been working towards a clean and healthy India since 2014 via the Banega Swachh India initiative, which is helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. The campaign aims to highlight the inter-dependency of humans and the environment, and of humans on one another with the focus on One Health, One Planet, One Future – Leaving No One Behind. It stresses on the need to take care of, and consider, everyone’s health in India – especially vulnerable communities – the LGBTQ population, indigenous people, India’s different tribes, ethnic and linguistic minorities, people with disabilities, migrants, geographically remote populations, gender and sexual minorities. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign will continue to raise awareness on the same along with focussing on the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children, fight malnutrition, mental wellbeing, self care, science and health, adolescent health & gender awareness. Along with the health of people, the campaign has realised the need to also take care of the health of the eco-system. Our environment is fragile due to human activity, which is not only over-exploiting available resources, but also generating immense pollution as a result of using and extracting those resources. The imbalance has also led to immense biodiversity loss that has caused one of the biggest threats to human survival – climate change. It has now been described as a “code red for humanity.” The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene. Banega Swasth India will also be taking forward the dream of Swasth Bharat, the campaign feels that only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and the country can become a Swasth or healthy India.