Noida to be made plastic-free city, residents urged to use cloth bags

Under the campaign, the authority will start the distribution of cloth bags to vendors, traders and individual residents in order to make them aware that using plastic bags is causing huge environment issues.

The Noida authority on Tuesday said it has decided to start a ‘say no to plastic’ campaign by distributing cloth bags, beginning July 4. The aim is to discourage people from using plastic bags and also spread awareness about how hazardous the use of plastic products has become to the environment.

A man carries a polythene bag in Noida, on Tuesday, July 2, 2019. (Virendra Singh Gosain/HT Photo)

Under the campaign, the authority will start the distribution of cloth bags to vendors, traders and individual residents in order to make them aware that using plastic bags is causing huge environment issues. “Our motive is to make Noida a no-plastic city, where people completely stop depending upon plastic bags. We want to enforce the plastic ban effectively with the help of residents, social groups, corporate houses and other interested individuals. We want to make Noida a sustainable city, where we do not cause any harm to ecology,” Alok Tandon, authority CEO, said.

The authority said Lalit Thukral from Mod Print,Rakesh Batla from Radiant Exports and Pramila Khanna from Khanna Associates, among others, have come forward to join this campaign that will encourage the general public to use only cloth bags.

“If we use plastic bags to carry vegetables and other items, it finally reaches the landfill, drains or other vacant spaces, thereby causing ecological problems. If we are able to completely do away with plastic bags, the peoblem of choked drains, which is very common in Noida, can also be resolved to a large extent,” Rajeev Tyagi, general manager of the Noida authority, said.

The state government on July 15, 2018, had enforced a ban on plastic across all cities. The UP Plastic and other Non-biodegradable Garbage (Regulation of Use and Disposal) Act, 2000, was amended and an ordinance was issued for this. As per the ordinance, whoever uses in contravention or abets the use in contravention of Section 7 (of the ordinance) shall be punished,

However, the authority has failed to enforce the ban and has not penalised offenders effectively.“We will take all required steps to make Noida a plastic-free city,” Tyagi said.