The Ponda Municipal Council will become the first civic body in the state to implement the Centre’s Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016, and will be levying charges on vendors who give out plastic bags. This is all dependent on the signature of the chairperson, which will sanction such a move. The guidelines of the Rules dictate that all vendors must be charged Rs 4,000 per month, for dispensing plastic bags to their consumers. The money will
be used for waste management by the civic bodies. There are obvious merits to implementing the Plastic Waste Management Rules, which has also changed the minimum
thickness of plastic packets to 50 microns, from the earlier 40.
Over 15,000 tonnes of plastic waste is being generated in the
country every day and the Centre aims to combat this by restricting
the use of plastic bags. While total bans do not always
work, putting pressure on vendors to be judicious when plying
their trade will also make them accountable for the consequences
of rampant use of plastic
bags. They will have to register
themselves with the civic bodies,
in this case the Ponda Municipal
Council, and also display the fact
that plastic bags shall be charged.
The manufacturers haven’t been
spared either, as the Rules state that
all companies manufacturing plastic
bags have to pay money to the
State government, which will trickle down to civic bodies and
panchayats, to fund their waste management programmes.
Vendors will obviously now charge customers for plastic
bags, and herein lies the question of whether there should be
regulations that fix prices on certain sizes and thicknesses, or
whether vendors should be allowed to dictate their own terms
in this regard. While the former process will at least keep the
‘business’ of selling plastic bags sane, the latter method can
provide vendors will a chance to fleece unsuspecting consumers.
One of the biggest questions, as always in matters of governance
of this sort, is how will the PMC enforce these rules?
The civic body plans to display an ad on their bills and also inform
shopkeepers when they come to renew trade licences. If
they do need to succeed, then a comprehensive plan of action
needs to be drawn up. The PMC needs to bring all vendors,
kiosk owners and gaddo owners under the ambit of this act,
making sure that no one manages to slip under the radar.
At the end of the day, the use of plastic bags is probably one
of the single largest contributor to the plastic waste generated
in the state. The bags are then discarded wantonly. A drive by
many field, streams and nullahs will see plastic bags collecting
by the hundreds near storm water drains openings etc. It is
doubtful that Ponda, or any other town in Goa, will ever experience
something like the July 2006 floods in Mumbai, where
drains and pipes were blocked by plastic bags, but there is
enough evidence to support the claim of many that there is
a danger of smaller incidents occurring throughout the State.
There will certainly be opposition to this move by the PMC,
should it ever see the light of day, from manufacturers, vendors
and perhaps even consumers. But, implementing this act
is the need of the hour and more civic bodies and panchayats
need to get on board.
