BMC: 47,000 kg of plastic seized, Rs 1.9 cr fine collected in 6 months

Plastic bags

With plastic bags being freely handed out by vendors, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) claims to have seized 47,000 kg of plastic and collected fines worth Rs 1.9 crore over the past six months, since the day the ban came into effect. Sources said the civic body had also filed inspection reports against 355 shopkeepers and vendors. Not only this, BMC sources further said more than 100 plastic manufacturing units had been closed and steps were being taken to end the production of single-use plastic bags.

After the state government implemented the ban on single-use plastic bags in June last year, people found using them were fined anything between Rs 5,000 and Rs 25,000. According to sources, in the last six months, 310 blue squad members of BMC have visited markets across the city 4.4 lakh times and carried out a number of drives to curb the use of plastic. But, the ground reality continues to remain the same, as vendors fearlessly hand out plastic bags.

Asif Zakaria, a Congress corporator from Bandra, said, "I have not seen any blue squad member in the area, and all vendors and shopkeepers are giving out plastic bags. This clearly shows how unsuccessful the ban has been." Speaking to mid-day, Deputy Municipal Commissioner Vijay Balamwar, said, "Whenever we receive complaints, our officials take immediate action. It is a continuous process wherein even the citizens should refuse to take plastic bags from shopkeepers. I will also direct the officials to conduct more aggressive drives."

No. of plastic manufacturing units that have been shut down

310
No. of blue squad members conducting drives across the city

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