BHUBANESWAR: In a major crackdown, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) on Friday seized around 1.5 tonnes single-use plastic items from the Damana market area and imposed Rs 25,000 penalty on a vendor for violating the pollution norms.
BMC officials said their enforcement team, as part of their regular checking, entered the market area to search for single-use plastic. During inspection, the team suddenly traced a house nearby the market, used as a stock unit for the banned items.
As the team entered the house, it detected a stock of 1.5 tonnes including single-use plastic glasses, thermocol cutleries, and polythene bags.
We found that it was the second time that such a huge quantity of banned plastic items seized from the defaulter. Accordingly Rs 25, 000 fine was imposed, said BMC officials.
BMC commissioner Vijay Amruta Kulange said Rs 3.85 lakh fine has been collected by the civic body from defaulters over plastic norm violations between October 2022 and March 2023. More than 3.5 metric tonnes of single-use plastic has been seized in this period, he said. “We are also seeking support from traders as well as community members to check the use of single-use plastic items in the city,” he said.