Drive against plastic bags gains ground in Goa MUMBAI, Monday, January 30, 2006
At the forefront of the campaign are two major municipal councils - of port town Mormugao and capital Panaji. In the pipeline, is a plan to make Panaji Chaka Chak(PTI) Panaji: The drive against plastic carry-bags is gaining pace in Goa with two major municipal councils - Corporation of City of Panaji (CCP) and Mormugao Municipal Council (MMC) - taking steps to ban them. The MMC, a civic body covering the port town of Vasco, banned all forms of plastic carry-bags within its limits from January 26 onwards "We had given one-month notice to all the people, especially shopkeepers in the town, before implementing the Act," stated MMC chief Elvis Gomes. "The plastic ban was taken well by the people, as during the implementation we did not notice a single case of violation," he said. The port town had notified a ban on plastic in 2004 but was awaiting enforcement, he added. The CCP, covering Goa's capital Panaji, is about to implement the ban. "We have sought notification from the Science, Environment and Technology Department banning plastic carry-bags in Panaji. Only after the notification can we begin the implementation," CCP Commissioner Sanjith Rodrigues said. "The initial Act banning plastic bags less than 40 microns would be modified to include all forms of plastic bags, as people are circumventing the law," he said. Meanwhile, CCP has decided to take several steps under its 'Mission Chaka Chak Panaji' to keep the capital city clean, which includes segregation of garbage at collection points and implementation of guidelines under the National Urban Renewal Mission (NURM), he said.
