Following the opposition to the enforcement of the ban on plastic packaging by certain sections of the merchants associations in the Nilgiris, the District Collector, S.P. Amrith, held a meeting on Monday with small business owners explaining that the ban on plastic use cannot be rescinded, and that the district administration would continue to enforce the ban strictly.
The meeting included small business owners, merchants associations members and officials from the local civic body from across the Nilgiris. Speaking at the meeting, the Collector explained that the Chennai High Court had directed that single-use plastics be banned, and that the district administration was only enforcing the order. He said that a total of 50 vigilance teams, comprising officials from the local civic bodies and revenue department, totaling 251 government staff were enforcing the ban by conducting checks on the use of plastic every two days.
The vigilance teams had seized a total of 1,400 kg of banned plastic products in 2022 and had imposed a fine of ₹ 27.75 lakh on 51 shop owners. A vehicle was also seized for transporting the plastic products. This year, a total of 336 kg have been seized with fines amounting to ₹ 8.41 lakh being imposed. A total of 17 shops have also been sealed for violating the ban on plastic. The Collector urged small businesses not to use banned plastics for packaging and also not to sell water or drinks in one-time-use plastic bottles.
