Fines worth Rs 50 lakh imposed for using plastic in last 3 yrs: SDMC

Penalties worth nearly Rs 50 lakh have been imposed for using single-use plastic in the last three years by the south corporation authorities, officials said on Friday.

In a statement, the South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC) said, it has taken a multitude of measures to make its 'plastic-free city' campaign a success.

The SDMC, in the last three years, has issued as many as 2,120 challans while it has imposed fines worth nearly Rs 50 lakh for using single-use plastic, it said.

The civic agency said it has intensified its ongoing campaign to phase out single-use plastic bags from market places and commercial complexes in all four zones.

Initiatives like 'Why Waste Wednesdays', 'Plastic Lao Thaila Pao', 'Eco-bricks wall', 'Project Vikalp', utensil stores, plastic waste processing units and installation of bottle crushing machines have been launched with an aim to discourage people against using plastic bags, officials said.

''The SDMC has chalked out a proper plan to ensure disposal of plastic waste collected from various nooks. With the help of the UNDP, a 'Swacchta Kendra' has been set up and a plastic waste processing plant having 5 TPD capacity has been made operational at Dwarka,'' it said in the statement on Friday.

Nearly 485 tonnes of plastic waste has been recycled to make useful products at this plant, it added.

A material recovery facility (MRF) with the capacity of 100 TPD has also been established at Raghubir Nagar in February this year and 23 tonnes of plastic waste has been recycled so far at this facility, it said.

In addition, 10 private agencies have been engaged to collect, lift and transport plastic waste from the Okhla landfill site, the SDMC said.

The civic body, since June 2021, has collected a whopping 4,000 tonnes of plastic waste, it added.

The ban against use of single-use plastic is being strictly enforced in all the zones. Plastic material of thickness less than 75 microns has been strictly banned, it said.

With the active cooperation and support of the RWAs, market associations, trade unions and industrial bodies, awareness campaigns are being organised on a massive scale and citizens are being encouraged not to use plastic bags, it said.

Authorities have also confiscated about 35,000 plastic bags from shops located in various markets and commercial complexes, the statement said.

To stop incidents of burning of plastic material, special teams have been constituted separately in each zone and a close eye is being kept to check and stop any such practice, it said.

Teams have also been initiating action against offenders, it added.

A 'City Level Task Force' has been constituted to ensure implementation of the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 and to phase out single-use plastic, the civic body said.