Telangana govt urged to impose total ban on single-use plastics
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Hyderabad: The Forum for Good Governance (FGG) has urged the state govt to impose a total ban on single-use plastics (SUP), citing severe environmental damage and health risks.
In a detailed representation, FGG highlighted the widespread littering of plastic carry bags, plates and other disposable items, which choke drains, pollute water bodies, endanger wildlife and compromise soil and groundwater quality.
Drawing attention to successful bans in Karnataka and Maharashtra, the forum stressed that enforcement of existing rules was ineffective and called for comprehensive action.
FGG president Padmanabha Reddy said, "Even with the slightest rain, the roads get flooded, leading to traffic chaos, particularly in metropolitan cities such as Hyderabad, besides damaging property and sometimes claiming human life. Domesticated animals consuming leftover food and other waste thrown in plastic bags die a painful death.
Burning of plastics leads to the emission of highly toxic gases, particularly dioxins and furans.
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He added, "In Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, less than 50 micron thickness carry bags were banned, but it is impossible to control and regulate the manufacturing and use of such plastic carry bags as public are not in a position to know the exact thickness."
FGG said the National Green Tribunal (NGT) upheld the legal validity of the total ban on plastics imposed by Karnataka.
The plastic industry filed an appeal against the NGT order before the SC, which refused to stay the NGT order, he said.
"The govt of Karnataka has taken into account the environmental concern and protection of public interest, which is of much greater cause than the economic interest sought by the manufacturers of single-use plastic items. Telangana should follow the footsteps of Karnataka," he said.
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