Deputy Commissioner Kathua Rahul Pandey today chaired a meeting of officers to discuss an action plan for effective enforcement of Single Use Plastic ban in the district.At the outset, threadbare discussions were held regarding present status of Single Use Plastic (SUP) and strategies required for phasing out the SUPs through attitudinal behaviour change.
The DC said that the action plan calls for a multi-pronged strategy to combat the menace of plastic, which requires active participation of all the stakeholders besides a mass awareness campaigns to sensitize the public about the ill effects of SUPs.The DC directed ADC to constitute committees at District and Tehsil levels for execution of the action plan for weeding out Single Use Plastics.
The General Man, DIC was directed to explore the alternative to SUPs and share the list of identified items with members of the District Level Committee to ensure the availability of the alternatives through agencies dealing with supplies of eco-friendly items.
The department of Pollution Control was directed to carry out the IEC campaign with the support of the Information department to disseminate and publicise the message regarding adverse effects of SUPs and to make it a public campaign.
The DC also called upon the concerned officers to take strict enforcement measures starting from prominent locations having high footfall of the consumers to convey the message for larger good.The action plan would also ensure strict enforcement through Panchayats in Rural areas and by concerned Municipalities of Urban areas of the district, the DC added.
The DC further enjoined upon the stakeholders to maintain close cooperation to achieve desired results of the eradication measures against the Single Use Plastic.The meeting was attended by DC State Taxes, ASP, ADC Kathua, GM DIC, CMO and other concerned officers.