HYDERABAD: A ban has been imposed on the use of thin plastic material on Tirumala hills.
Speaking to reporters here today after a meeting of the Pollution Control Board under the chairmanship of chief minister K Rosaiah, environment and forest minister P Ramachandra Reddy said that the ban would come into force 30 days from today.
He said the thickness of the plastic covers that can be used has been raised to 40 microns from 20 microns. This would help reduce the usage of plastc as the cost of covers would increase, Ramachandra Reddy said.The minister said that to control pollution in the Musi river and Hussain Sagar lake in Hyderabad, it has been decided to stop letting treated sewage water into them by March 31 next year.
He said that the present treatment plant’s capacity would be increased and sewage water would be put to use for non-drinking purposes. Ramachandra Reddy stated the PCB had sought filling up of 38 posts to which the chief minister responded positively. He said two more task force units would be established in addition to the existing four at Kurnool and Visakhapatnam.
As far as the treatment of biomedical wastage was concerned, there were 19 units in operation and soon some more would be established in the state, the minister explained.