Plastic Ban in Maharashtra: BJP MLA Suggests Stalling the Ban Until 2019, Meets CM With Small Scale Retailers

Mumbai, June 29: After the plastic ban was introduced in Maharashtra, the state and civic authorities of various cities are directing citizens and establishments to not use single-use plastic, levelling fines upon offenders. However, the state government's own party MLA Raj Purohit (Bharatiya Janata Party) from  Kalbadevi Constituency of South Mumbai has demanded that the Devendra Fadnavis-led state government should stall the ban uptill 2019. In a bid to press their demands, the legislator along with the members who are  small-scale traders met CM Fadnavis on Thursday about the issues faced by traders due to the ban.

Speaking about the inconvenience, MLA Purohit said,“Though the plastic ban is a good move, there has been no alternative arrangement made for the banned items. It is causing a lot of inconvenience to the people and traders." He suggested that the government should form a joint committee comprising officials, traders and environment experts to figure out alternative arrangements for plastic.

Besides this, he also claimed that the fine for violating the ban is huge and the amount should be between Rs. 100 and Rs. 500. "There is a lot of resentment among the people and the traders about the steep fine. It should be revised," he was quoted as saying in the Indian Express news report.

During the meet, the delegates also suggested that the minister to them provide financial assistance which will encourage them to adopt recycling mechanism. In reply, the CM has ensured them that they will look into the issue.

Although the decision for the plastic ban was announced by the Shiv Sena -BJP coalition government jointly, Aditya Thackeray, son of Sena Chief Uddhav, was at the forefront to bring the ban on single-use plastic. After his demand, the Environment Minister Ramdas Kadam of the Sena called for the ban on plastic. Many accused the state of taking the decision haphazardly without providing a proper replacement for plastic.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jun 29, 2018 01:31 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).