By Prachi Sonawane. Photographs by Santosh Gupta
A week after Maharashtra banned single-use (disposable) plastics, an event held by Thane District officials in Kalyan's Murbad area on Sunday – which saw bigwig politicos including Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari and Environment Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, among others – had a different scene altogether, with disposable plastic glasses being used to serve water. The event was a state-level Tree Plantation drive over 83 hectares of land in the forest at Murbad.
It may be recalled that on June 23, the Maharashtra government had started penalising all those found using plastic products, including single-use disposable items. The Devendra Fadnavis-led state government enforced the ban after issuing the Maharashtra Plastic and Thermocol Products (manufacture, usage, sale, transport, handling, and storage) notification on March 23 this year. Citing the environmental risks and harm caused to wild animals from ingestion or entanglement in plastic, the government enforced the ban with immediate effect.
As per the notification, products manufactured using plastic and thermocol have been covered under the ban. As a result, usage of plastic bags with or without a handle, disposable cups, plates, spoons, forks, glasses and containers are prohibited in the state. Plastic packaging used to wrap and store products are also included in the ban.
