Tackling Pollution! Manipur Govt's New Plastic Policy Sets Punishment Upto 5 Years In Prison

The state cabinet approved Manipur's state government policy to reduce plastic pollution and regulate single-use plastic products on May 18. The thickness of the single-use plastic product will be increased from 50 microns, in line with the Centre's policy of 2021, set to be implemented this year. It set the punishment for not following the rule at a fine up to ₹1 lakh and even five-year imprisonment.

India On Single-Use Plastic

The Plastic Waste Management Amendment Rules, 2021, prohibits single-use plastic products from July 1 this year. This Amendment came after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to ban all single-use plastic by 2022. According to the amended rule, manufacturing, import, stocking, sale, and distribution of single-use plastic will be stopped. Some items include - plastic flags, ice-cream sticks, thermocol, plates, cups, cutlery, wrapping films, cigarette packets, etc.

The aim is to use 120-micron quality plastic by December 2022, which has high life, encouraging the reuse of plastic due to its thickness. However, at the moment, single-use plastic bags have only been increased to 75 microns.

The State governments had been ordered to create a mitigation 'action plan' for eliminating single-use plastic in 2016. In the previous Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, all the States and Union Territories were requested to have a Special Task Force for reducing single-use plastic. A National Level Taskforce was also constituted by the Centre, coordinating the efforts of various states to implement this policy efficiently.

New Plastic Rule In Manipur

Identified single-use plastic less than 50 microns has a shallow shelf-life with 'high littering potential'. According to Kh Tomba, a scientist with the Manipur Pollution Control Board, the new plastic policy will follow PM Modi's call for eradicating single-use plastic by 2022. He remarked, "The new policy will substantially reduce the impact of plastic waste on the environment. Once it is fully implemented, a directive would be issued to the dealers and shopkeepers to empty all their stocks," as reported by The Indian Express.

Tomba also stated that the new plastic policy would probably come into effect in the following week.

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