Eco-friendly containers for city’s 3,741 fisherwomen

A day after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) reinitiated its drive to impose plastic and thermocol ban strictly, the civic body, under its gender budget,

A day after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) reinitiated its drive to impose plastic and thermocol ban strictly, the civic body, under its gender budget, has proposed to provide eco-friendly plastic containers to 3,741 women fishmongers.

HT Image

Under the Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) scheme, existing thermocol containers will now be replaced by new eco-friendly plastic containers. These containers last longer and can carry up to 20kg of fish.

The proposal for the same, with a provision of ₹3.74 crore under the gender budget, will be tabled in the standing committee meeting on Wednesday.

The women fishmongers will receive ₹10,000 to buy three containers that have a capacity of 50, 60, and 70 litres. The money will be transferred directly into the accounts of the eligible beneficiaries. To benefit from this scheme, fisherwomen will have to submit all valid documents to prove their income is below ₹1 lakh.

“To develop an environment-friendly approach, we have decided to distribute environmental containers to fishmongers so that they will help to keep the city clean and green,” said a BMC official.

On the second day of its drive against single-use plastic, the civic body collected fines of ₹3.75 lakh.