Minister for Forest, Environment and Ecology, Choudhary Lal Singh on Wednesday said the Government is taking all possible measures to prevent pollution of State’s environment and ecology adding that the Pollution Control Board (PCB) has been asked to strictly follow the guidelines of the Government and take stern action against the defaulters.Addressing a public meeting here today, the Minister informed that the Government has put a blanket ban on manufacturing of below fifty (50) micron polythene bags in the state. He said the new guidelines and regulations would facilitate proper recycling of plastic waste and reducing its impact on the ecology. He said as per new guidelines the manufacturers have to print their name and address on the bags, failing which strict action, as per the law, will be taken against them.
Chairman PCB B Siddhartha, Chief Wildlife Warden Manoj Panth, Regional Director Wildlife Sinthil Kumar, Managing Director State Forest Corporation Suresh Gupta, Chief Conservator of Forests Farooq Gillani besides other senior officers of PCB accompanied the Minister.Choudhary Lal Singh said the measures are being taken to curb the still prevalent use of polythene bags that pose serious threat to environment and wildlife. He said directions have been passed to all allied departments for successful and strict implementation of the guidelines of the Government. He asked the PCB to organize awareness camps both in urban and rural areas to educate the masses about ill effects of non-biodegradable products.“Wanton use of polythene and its unscientific disposal has posed a serious threat to the environment as it takes very long time to degrade. We would make sure that there is no choking of the drains causing insanitary conditions in the State,” he asserted. He said the implementation of order on the ground level needs cooperation of all departments.