CHENNAI: The Chennai Corporation on Saturday began a drive to seize single-use plastic products and impose penalties on shops that use plastic covers and wrappers. A team of officials, headed by Deputy Commissioner of Health Dr Manish Narnaware, inspected several shops and levied the owners fines ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 500.
Corporation officials said that the drive would continue in the coming days, and shop keepers have been advised to refrain from using plastic products. The officials seized plastic covers and plates from bakeries and markets on the day.
The use of single-use plastic products were banned in the city in 2019, and shopkeepers were directed to use paper bags. The civic body officials had also shut down a company that manufactured plastic covers, which bore the tagline “use plastics and save forests”. Dr Manish Narnaware tweeted that the company had printed misguiding messages on banned items, and the firm owners would be traced.