The Corporation of the City of Panaji and municipalities are gearing up once again for a complete plastic ban. Seriously? One may ask. Goa has never taken these plastic bans seriously. And we have seen over a dozen false-starts to ban plastic bags ever since Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar first made an announcement to this effect in his budget speech of 2012. Thereafter, we heard of plastic bans at every Liberation Day, Gandhi Jayanti and Independence Day and yet nothing materialised. The last time such a ban was to take place was in April 2018, but it could last only a few days.
Plastic has been choking States across India and the world over and there is an oscillating urgency shown by all governments. In Goa, even though there is no environment impact study done, successive plans to implement the plastic ban under the Goa Non-Biodegradable Garbage (Control) Act, 1996 have flopped.
While there is one more attempt to ban plastic, there is no plan of action drawn. The administration cannot wash its hands off this issue without providing alternatives. For any plastic ban to work, it should be well-studied and implemented in a phased manner. Authorities need to test it first in the fish, vegetable and fruit markets. It makes sense to set a start point, since these are the markets where alternative to plastics, like a cloth bag, are needed. The small vendor on the streets who sells loose household items will find it tough to handle his sales once plastic bags are withdrawn.
Awareness also needs to be raised on substitutes used which at times could be more hazardous than plastic bags, like for example polypropylene bags which have an appearance of cloth. Stakeholders need to sit across and debate on locally-available options like cloth bags and ways to make it viable for the Goan market. There need to be campaigns to alert the thousands of domestic tourists who are habituated to carrying a plastic bag along, just like the common man on the streets. If the ban is going to be a punishable offence, there is a level of awareness that is needed first.
Announcement of a ban is relatively easy. It doesn’t cost anything. Implementing it is an issue. A crucial area is enforcement and Goa has historically failed big time on this count. We have a spitting ban, gukta ban, smoking ban, ban on drinking in public places and open urination and defecation ban. But nothing has stopped people from smoking in the open while our shops are very actively selling gutka. A lack of strong enforcement and follow up action has seen these bans wither away in no time.
Government should also lead by example and implement a plastic ban across all its offices and establishments. As part of his government’s vision for Swachh Bharat, chief minister Manohar Parrikar had appealed to all government departments not to use plastics and to consider it as a personal agenda. There are very few who have followed the CM’s directive in letter and spirit. Sadly, till now even a proposal of designating plastic-free zones in the State still remains under government consideration.
