GUNTUR: Special task force teams are carrying out raids at malls, shops, and roadside businesses intensely as the Guntur Municipal Corporation has imposed a ban on plastic covers in the city from November 11.
To discourage the use of plastic, the teams are imposing a fine of Rs 250-Rs 500 on consumers, Rs 2,500-Rs 15,000 on vendors and retailers and Rs 50,000 on manufacturers.
Along with this, the GMC has also started a new drive called ‘No Bag No Entry’. The civic body has issued strict instructions to all shop owners, that the customers should only be allowed in to shop if they carry their own cloth/jute/paper bag in order to encourage the citizens to stop the usage of plastic bags.
The officials informed that along with hefty fines, legal cases will be filed under the National Tribunal and Solid Waste Management Act against the manufacturers if they do not follow the regulations.
The city generates about 17 metric tonnes of plastic waste out of which 30 per cent is polythene bags that are non-biodegradable. So, it is everyone’s responsibility to reduce plastic use and save the environment, GMC commissioner Ch Anuraddha said.