Centre's ban on SUP items lacks preparation, says Rai

New Delhi: The Centre did not prepare enough to provide people alternatives and shift manufacturing units to green options before banning single-use plastic and the curbs cannot be imposed forcibly, Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai has said. He also claimed the union government did not even call a meeting of state environment ministers before the ban came into force.

"I think it (announcement of the ban) lacked preparation. Stakeholders should have been told about alternatives and the government's support to help them shift to the green options... I think these issues should have been resolved before announcing the ban," Rai said.

The minister said raw materials for alternatives to single-use plastic items attract high GST, which makes the product unviable for people.

"The GST rate on green alternatives and their raw material should have been slashed before the implementation of the ban... The central government was required to prepare a proper mechanism. The curbs cannot be enforced forcibly," he said. Besides drafting laws, the governments in states and at the Centre need to work on options available if they want to stop plastic pollution, the minister said. "Our government organised a three-day fair at the Thyagraj Stadium to promote alternatives to single-use plastic items. We got to know that units manufacturing such items are willing to shift to alternatives, but it takes long (around a year) to obtain necessary permissions.

"Till then, the machinery and the factory will be rendered useless. What will happen to the labour during the waiting period?" he asked.

Such units require permission from the Central Pollution Control Board. The application needs to be submitted with a report from the Central Institute of Petrochemicals Engineering which tests compostable plastic.

The institute takes around six months to conduct the tests and there is a waiting period of over six months on average.

Rai had recently written to Union Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav, requesting him to authorise more laboratories to test compostable products. To spread awareness about the ban on single-use plastic items, the Delhi government will impart training to the members of eco-clubs in the capital.

The training programme will be conducted on July 19 in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme.