Pollution Control Board, Assam, warns illegal plastic disposable manufacturers

The Pollution Control Board, Assam (PCBA), has cracked the whip on the illegal manufacturers of prohibited single-use plastic (SUP) items in the state. It has issued a notice to these units to stop such manufacture immediately and warned of fines and closure notices if they do not comply.

GUWAHATI: The Pollution Control Board, Assam (PCBA), has cracked the whip on the illegal manufacturers of prohibited single-use plastic (SUP) items in the state. It has issued a notice to these units to stop such manufacture immediately and warned of fines and closure notices if they do not comply.

Manufacture and use of single-use plastic (SUP) items are prohibited in Assam, and the state government, through the district administrations, has occasionally issued strict directives regarding the ban. Raids were also conducted in shops and godowns to confiscate such banned items. Despite these measures, the manufacture of the prohibited category of plastics continues, which has prompted the PCBA to be more stringent.

The notice from the PCBA states that “despite issuing several directives, prohibited single-use plastics are still manufactured illegally by a few industries in the state in violation of the provisions of the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2021, in respect of the prohibition of various SUP items.”

Citing the National Green Tribunal (NGT) of O.A. 710 of 2017, the PCBA said, “The scale of compensation must be deterrent, rendering violations of the Rules non-profitable.” The PCBA notified all SUP manufacturers in the state to stop manufacturing any prohibited SUP immediately. In case any violation is observed, the Board said it would levy a minimum environmental compensation fine of Rs. 5,000 per day, as applicable to various industries, against SUP manufacturers, besides issuing a closure notice to the entire unit.

It was further stated that the number of days of violation shall be calculated from the date the prohibition of selected SUP items came into force on July 1, 2022.