Madhya Pradesh polythene ban delayed, now likely after May 8

BHOPAL: Ban on polythene bags will be delayed further in Madhya Pradesh as the government was not able to bring an ordinance because of Vidhan Sabha session on May 3. Now, it is likely to be implemented after May 8.

Urban administration and development (UAD) principal secretary Malay Shrivastava told TOI, “Now the ordinance will be issued after the daylong assembly session on May 3 convened for endorsing the GST.” He said the ordinance related to ban carry bags was signed by President Pranab Mukherjee and was received by the government on April 28. Now, the state government will promulgate an ordinance to enforce the decision and it cannot be done as the daylong notification of assembly for May 3 was issued. Earlier, the government had planned to promulgate it on May 1.”
Chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan had announced the decision to ban the polythene bags in the state on January 26. On April 11, a cabinet meeting endorsed the decision. Earlier too, on May 21, 2015, the chief minister had announced to impose the ban on polythene bags from January 1, 2016. He had stated this while reviewing the activities of Urban development and environment department, but it could not be implemented.

Every time the government announced its decision to ban polythene bags, it creates confusion among people involved in plastic industry, from manufacturing to distribution, said BK Kabra, a Bhopal-based manufacturer. “The government never clarifies the specifications of the thickness of the carry bags to be banned. In 2016, the Centre said carry bags up to 51 microns can be used,” he said. Though the government is yet to make public the specifications, the UAD principal secretary said “all the carry bags would be banned, irrespective of thickness”.
Meanwhile, minister for environment Antar Singh Arya said carry bags would be “banned completely” in Madhya Pradesh by May 9-10.