Mumbai: The Maharashtra government's state-wide ban on the use of plastic items, including carry bags and thermocol, came into effect on Saturday.

The fine will be Rs 5,000 for first-time offenders and Rs 10,000 for second-time offenders. Those who violate the ban for the third time will face a fine of Rs 25,000, along with imprisonment of three months.

Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis said the plastic ban could succeed only if all the stakeholders supported the move. "We want to promote responsible use of plastic. Therefore, we have banned the kind of plastic that cannot be collected, regulated and recycled," he said.

Fadnavis said the ban put the onus on polluters, but at the same time some exceptions had been made so that businesses were not hampered till alternatives had a strong presence in the market.

"The ban will succeed only with the participation of all stakeholders. The government has made a committee to ensure trouble-shooting and smooth adaptation. We do not want to promote police raj and we are also trying to address the concerns of traders and small vendors," Fadnavis said.

On March 23, the state government had imposed a ban on the manufacture, use, sale, distribution and storage of plastic materials such as one-time-use bags, spoons, plates, PET and PETE bottles and thermocol items. The government had given three months' time for the disposal of the existing stocks.

All kinds of plastic bags - irrespective of their thickness - tea cups, glasses, thermocol glasses, thermocol used for decoration and plastic used in hotels to parcel food, such as boxes and spoons, have been banned, state environment minister Ramdas Kadam said.

Claiming that 80 per cent of the plastic is manufactured in Gujarat, the minister said those bringing plastic into Maharashtra from other states would be jailed for three months.

Kadam said plastic and thermocol used by manufacturing companies, materials used in hospitals like saline bottles, and boxes used to store medicines, plastic pens and milk pouches that are above 50 microns in thickness have been exempted from the ban.

"Plastic and thermocol used for packaging television sets, fridges, computers as well as raincoats, plastic used for storing food grain and those used in nurseries for plants and also plastic in which biscuits and chips are packaged have been exempted from the ban," he said.

On the first day of the ban, 72 people were fined and a sum of Rs 3.6 lakh collected from them in Nashik, a civic corporation official said.