One of the several failings of the Manohar Parrikar government was that it couldn’t successfully implement a plastic ban despite showing promise at least half a dozen times. And the last few times the ban was tried in Panaji, it only ended up making a mockery. Margao also went for such a ban several times, but the will was amiss and implementation patchy. Such bans have been tried several times in urban areas of the State, but not one city could hold on to it. The reason: there is no roadmap in place. The zeal is lacking throughout the entire hierarchy starting from the government leadership.
Cut to the present and chief minister Pramod Sawant has made yet another attempt, his first since the time he took on the leadership. Sawant’s move comes against the backdrop of the NGT’s directive to involve municipalities and panchayats in solid waste management, bio-medical waste management and plastic waste management in a time-bound manner.
On the directive of the director of panchayats, village bodies across the State moved resolutions to ban the use of plastic in their respective jurisdictions. Some have toed the line without even knowing the consequences of such a decision. Plastic suddenly became the talking point at almost every gram sabha. Panchayats of Colvale, Camurlim, Moira, Nachinola, Aldona, Calangute, Carmona, Curtorim, Sancoale supported the move, however panchayats like Cavelossim and Velim in South Goa had apprehensions and raised questions, and rightly so.
There needs to be clarity on a host of issues before going ahead with an exercise of this magnitude. Otherwise, this attempt will be futile like all the previous ones. Plastic carry bags below 50 micron thickness are to be banned. But what about other forms of single-use plastics like straws, cutlery and plastic food packs. Secondly, where are the mechanisms in place to test the micron level of plastics, or is it going to be a guessing game? Thirdly, where are the alternatives? The last time Panaji tried to replace plastic bags it only ended up using polypropylene bags which could be more harmful than plastic. Can the government ensure easy availability of corn starch bags and cloth/jute bags or bio green bags at this point and at the same time make them affordable?
The first step towards such a ban should be to stop production and cut off supplies to the market. Goa has a total of 34 registered units manufacturing plastic. To effect such a ban, the government will have to first amend the Goa Non-Biodegradable Garbage Control Act.
What about enforcement? Are the panchayats equipped to crack the whip on plastics in their areas? The shifting of responsibility to the panchayats is unprecedented. Local bodies have already been struggling with some of their own issues like recovery of tax arrears and land encroachments. With the absence of requisite manpower with the panchayats, this ban is heading nowhere.
