Minister for Law, Justice and Rural Development, Abdul Haq, today called for strict enforcement of polythene ban to realize the objective of the Polythene-free village campaign.He said this at a meeting chaired by him to review the progress of the anti-polythene campaign in the Jammu Division.He directed the officials of Jammu Municipal Committee (JMU), Excise Department and Pollution Control Board (PCB) to ensure complete ban on entry of polythene into the State. He emphasized them to keep a strict vigil at Lakhanpur and other entry points to ensure that polythene is not imported into the State.Expressing satisfaction over the success achieved, so far, in the anti-Polythene campaign, the Minister said the Government has received overwhelmed response from the public for the campaign and people have voluntarily shunned the habit of polythene use.Calling for synergy among various Departments, Abdul Haq asked the officials to work together in attaining the goal of making the state Polythene free and ensure visible change of ground within ten days.It was said that four blocks and 34 panchayats have been declared as Polythene free in the Jammu division and all efforts are being made to ensure success of the campaign in the entire State.
During the meeting, the Minister was informed that during the week-long campaign that started on May 11, as many as 6167.63 Kilograms of Polythene was collected from Jammu division, while as 1103.91 kgs of polythene was seized from the shopkeepers and pedestrians and Rs 1.57 lakh was recovered as fine from the violators.While talking about the disposal of the collected polythene, the Minister said that one Panchayat in each block will have segregation shed for separation of bio-degradable and non bio-degradable waste. He said the used polythene will be disposed off scientifically without causing any harm to the environment.The meeting was attended by DDC Rajouri Dr Shahid Iqbal, DDC Udhampur Neeraj Kumar, DC Jammu Rajeev Sharma, DC Kathua Ramesh Kumar, DC Reasi Ravinder Kumar, DC Kishtwar G. N. Balwan, Commissioner JMC M Raju, Director Industries and Commerce Jammu Rajinder Singh Tara, ACDs, DPOs and other officers from Urban Local Bodies and State Pollution Control Board.