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. They also need to figure out how to ensure that all vendors not only register themselves but also follow the rules. 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.
