No wonder plastic ban is not working

1,200 licences illegally issued to polluting units, including plastic bag makers, alleges MCD councillor, reports Neelam Pandey.

While the government has banned the use of plastic bags in the city, other civic agencies seem to be flouting rules while allegedly issuing factory licences to such polluting units, including plastic bag manufacturers.

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Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) standing committee deputy chairperson Rajni Abbi, who raised the issue of giving factory licences in its meeting on Wednesday, has demanded a judicial probe into the matter.

“Licences were issued under the ‘Orange’ category wherein a permission has to be obtained from the DPCC (Delhi Pollution Control Committee) before the MCD grants a licence,” she said.

She said that when licences were issued, “either the DPCC permission was forged or it was simply not available”. The superintendent ignored the fact while granting as many as 1,200 licences, including those to plastic bag manufacturers, the BJP councillor alleged.

Many polluting units, which include industries and factories falling under the ‘orange’ category according to parameters of the DPCC, were given factory licences by the MCD.While admitting that some “genuine” units might have been granted licences, the councillor alleged that DPCC permission was also forged in some cases.

The ‘orange’ category includes plastic and PVC-related industrial units, including plastic bag manufacturers.

Following this, the superintendent in the MCD’s licensing department has been transferred to another department.

DPCC officials said that in a some cases where licences were issued by the MCD, the applicants had forged the documents.