CHENNAI: In February 2011, a rule was notified by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests that plastic bags should not be issued free of cost to customers, as part of efforts to curb the indiscriminate use of plastics. While several private retailers in the city have enforced the order with gusto, sometimes charging even Rs10 for a plastic bag, government-run stores here continue to give out plastic bags free of cost, much against the spirit of MoEF's dictum.The Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011 stipulates that consumers are charged a fee prescribed by the municipal authority (Chennai Corporation, in this case) for obtaining plastic bags. These bags will have to be white or use pigments conforming to the Bureau of Indian Standards' benchmarks, and will also have to be at least 40 microns thick. These rules replaced the 20 microns thickness requirement prescribed earlier under the Recycled Plastics Manufacture and Usage Rules of 1999.In Poompuhar, a prestigious unit of the Tamil Nadu Handicrafts Development Corporation (TNHDC), a state government enterprise, the sale of white with blue-hued plastic bags continues unhindered, despite the central government rule. Gopalakrishnan, sales and personnel manager of TNHDC, told CE that the Corporation had received no notification for these rules. Recalling that popular retailers in the city were enforcing the rule, he said efforts would be made to charge for plastic bags in Poompuhar soon.In Co-optex units across the city, run by the Handloom Weavers' Co-operative Society and a state government undertaking, Deepavali sales are on at a fervent pace. And buyers are simply handed out plastic bags in white and pink, carrying the Co-optex emblem, a butterfly, after every purchase. It is not that the salespersons are unaware of the Union Ministry's rule. “Sometimes, we hand out small items that people have bought in newspapers. But it is not possible for all purchases,” said a saleswoman in a Co-optex unit in T Nagar. Vijay Pingale, Managing Director of Co-Optex, assured City Express that the rule would be implemented soon in their stores. Amudham Department Stores, run by the Tamil Nadu Civil Supplies Corporation, too was found giving away plastic bags with every purchase. “Malls seem to be charging for big size plastic bags these days. We do not issue such big bags, but if the central government's rule applies to all bags, we will enforce it soon,” said Dr Veera Shanmuga Moni, Managing Director of the Corporation.Khadi Gramodyog Bhavan in Gopalapuram, registered and certified by the Khadi Village Industries Board, and a marketing outlet for Khadi and Village Industries products, was also found to be issuing plastic bags of various sizes, free to customers. But units of the Khadi Village Industries Board do not use plastic bags at all, and instead pack commodities in old cloth bags, said its CEO Jatindranath Swain.
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