CHENNAI: The State government will make an announcement banning the manufacture and use of plastic bags with thickness less than 60 microns soon, said Vishwanath Shegaonkar, Secretary, Labour and Employment department, who is holding additional charge of Environment and Forests department. Consultations with plastic bag manufacturers have already been held regarding this issue and alternative methods have been discussed, he added.Governor Surjit Singh Barnala, in his inaugural address at the start of the assembly session on Friday, had announced that the use of plastic bags with less than 60 microns thickness would be banned. “Both the manufacture and use of these bags will be banned very soon,” Shegaonkar said on the sidelines of an awareness event held to mark World Environment Day. Efforts were also being made by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and the Rural Development and Panchayati Raj Department to cleanse villages in the State of high pollution, he added.Elaborating on the plastic ban, Rameshram Mishra, Chairman, Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board, said that it is was an important step to conserve the environment as plastic bags were used for less than 20 minutes but took thousands of years to integrate with the soil.As part of the World Environment Day celebrations organised by the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and Tamil Nadu Environment Department on Sunday, an awareness procession by nearly 200 students was held from the Periyar Science and Technology Centre to the Guindy Children’s Park. The procession was flagged off by state Information Minister G Sentamizhan, while the state environment minister TKM Chinnaiya planted a sapling in the Periyar Science and Technology Centre.
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