Chennai, Dec 4 Tamil Nadu has appealed to the general public to inform the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB) of the manufacturers of single-use plastic bags in their neighbourhood. The single-use plastic bags and other items are in rampant use in many parts of the state even after the government has banned them.
The Madras High Court and the National Green Tribunal, Southern Bench had come down heavily on the government on several occasions about the measures taken by it to implement the ban properly.
The state government had banned manufacture, storage, supply, transport, sale, distribution of single-use plastic items, non-woven carry bags, and several such items.
Villupuram District Collector T. Mohan in an appeal to the public said that they can complain to the respective environment engineers of the TNPCB. He also requested them to provide their phone numbers and other contact details so as to avoid prank calls.
He said that the identity of the caller would not be revealed at any cost and the complainant would be aptly rewarded.
Madurai, Cuddalore, Tiruchy, Coimbatore, and Nilgiris District Collectors have also appealed to the public to complain to the TNPCB. All the Collectors said that the identity of the complainant would be protected and those who lodge real complaints would be properly rewarded.
The state government has been under dire stress to unearth the unofficial manufacturing units of single use plastic items as most of them are functioning within residential properties and in rented accommodations.
All the state governments have been given directives by the Union Ministry for Environment and Forests on the necessity to ban single-use plastic items as they were creating major damage to the environment.
Sumanth Narayanan, an activist based out of Chennai, who is campaigning against the single-use plastic items told : "At last wisdom has dawned on the government and they understood that without community participation, such things cannot be weeded out. The move of the government is appreciable and it is now up to the general public to properly complain against these manufacturers and help in implementation of ban on this dangerous item once and for all in our state."
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