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| Ban on Plastic Disposables in J&K: Why it took Govt 12 yrs to implement law? | | | Early Times Report
JAMMU, Apr 7: Recently Government issued an order vide SRO 231 wherein use of several plastic disposable items was banned. It took Government 12 years to implement sub section 3 of section 7 of Jammu & Kashmir Non-Biodegradable Material (Management Handling & Disposal) Act 2007 (JK NBM Act 2007) wherein Government has powers to ban the use of Non- Bio degradable material according to Sub section 3 of section 7 of JK NBM Act 2007.
"If the Government in consultation with Prescribed Authority is of the opinion that use of any non-bio degradable material in any non-bio degradable material control area or part thereof may cause, or is likely to cause environmental, health or other problems , it may by notification in the Government gazette ban, prohibit or restrict the use of such non bio degradable material in the non-biodegradable area of part thereof with effect from such date being not less than one month, from the date of publication of notification as may be specified in the notification".
Vide SRO 231 Government of J&K through the department of Forests, Environment & Ecology in consultation with the Prescribed Authorities J&K State Pollution Control Board (JKSPCB) on March 26th 2019 issued formal orders to completely ban the non -biodegradable disposables (mostly plastic material) like disposable plates, cups, bowls , tumblers , spoons , forks and knives etc. Pertinently J&K state has already been declared as a non-biodegradable material control area under NBM Act 2007. The decision taken by Government is indeed a welcome step but authorities need to explore the alternatives to non-biodegradable material so that people who are involved in its trade don't lose their livelihood.
The non-biodegradable disposable items made up of plastic, foam or thermocol like material have destroyed Jammu & Kashmir during last two to three decades. Srinagar and Jammu cities alone produce more than 950 metric tons of waste daily out of which around 15 to 20 % is non-biodegradable waste. Now authorities like Sriinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) or Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) don't even have a space available to landfill the waste and that is the reason plastic waste is found scattered in rivers , nallahs , ponds , lakes and roadsides.
"Successive Governments must be held accountable for not implementing the law which was enacted 12 years back. State Pollution Control Board which is the Prescribed Authority to implement J&K NBM Act 2007 must act on ground and not only sit and discuss these issues in offices. Now as the Government has decided to enforce ban on use of Non-Biodegradable disposable items, I would suggest that people associated with this trade of be encouraged to promote Bio-degradable disposable material. These products are very much available in market but the same are not promoted due to unknown reasons " said Dr Raja Muzaffar RTI Activist.
"This is the right time to explore the supply and sale of Bio-degradable material so that same is used during marriage and other functions. Government needs to subsidize business units who deal with production and sale of biodegradable disposable material. Solid and liquid waste management plus Gobar dhan schemes need to be implemented in rural areas so that Govt's focus is not only on urban area but on rural areas as well " said Advocate Shafaqat Nazir High Court Lawyer and legal advisor of Environmental Policy Group (EPG) who have filed a PIL on waste management in J&K High Court. |
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