Bhubaneswar: Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra has ordered to strictly implement single-use plastic ban law across the state. Today, he presided over the state task force committee meeting and issued an order. In this meeting held in digital mode, Environment Director Sushant Nand presented the matter related to ban on use of plastic and its compliance for discussion.
After reviewing the steps taken so far in this regard, Mahapatra directed the District Collectors, DFOs and the field officers of the concerned departments to strictly implement the law. The Chief Secretary also directed to take strict legal action against the single-use plastic manufacturing units and vendors selling them.
District Magistrates and Forest officials were asked to report every month about the compliance of plastic ban in their respective districts and forest divisions in haat bazaars, tourist spots, public meeting places etc.
It was decided in the meeting to make the awareness program more extensive and intensive to avoid using single-use banned plastic, polythene bags, carry bags, plastic glasses etc. Mohapatra directed Eco-clubs formed in schools, journalists, senior citizens, dignitaries, elected representatives, bar associations, Rotary and Lions Clubs and local voluntary organizations to actively participate in the campaign.
It was decided to take strict action against the manufacturers, traders and users of banned plastic by mounting at various places through special squares. Plastic waste collection and management was discussed in detail in the meeting. For this, coordination between rural and urban areas will be strengthened and facilitated.
Emphasizing the importance of reuse of plastic waste, Mahapatra directed to increase its use in road construction and cement factories.
The Chief Secretary directed the Department of Forests, Environment and Climate Change to ensure regular supply and use of plastic in road construction after meeting the officers and experts of the Pollution Control Board, Port, Rural Development, Housing and Urban Development Department.
The concerned companies were asked to increase the capacity of their plants to use more plastic waste in cement production.
According to the information received, the necessary infrastructure for plastic waste management has been created in 11,693 villages so far.
Solid waste and plastic waste are being managed by women self help groups in 3097 panchayats.
Door-to-door plastic waste collection system has been started in 1306 villages. 13,834 waste segregation sites have been created. About 13,455 three-wheelers are employed in rural areas for collection and transportation of solid waste.
In the year 2021-22, more than 86 tons of plastic waste has been collected from rural areas and reached the nearest urban waste management center.
Apart from this, around 1,900 waste collection agencies have collected 2,301 tons of plastic waste so far. Special units have been established in partnership with private investment to process the collected plastic before re-use.
Village-level waste disposal sheds have also been constructed in collaboration with Gram Pachayat and Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
Mahapatra directed to coordinate all the villages with the plastic waste collection and management program in a phased manner. The meeting also decided to increase the efficiency of waste segregation and recycling centers and plastic conversion units.
Forest and Environment Department Secretary Satyabrata Sahu, Panchayati Raj Secretary Ashok Kumar Meena, Housing and Urban Development Secretary G Mathivathanan, Member Secretary of Pollution Control Council Dr K Murugeshan along with senior officers and engineers of the concerned departments took part in the discussions.
