Despite ban, many people still carry plastic carry bags with thickness of less than 40mm. Telegraph pictures

Bhubaneswar, Oct. 30: The rampant use of plastic carry bags with thickness of less than 40mm has raised questions about environmental safety.

Despite the ban on the use of such bags, the Bhubaneswar Municipality Corporation (BMC) has not been able to do much as it lacks the equipment for checking thickness.

Bikram Keshari Routray, environment officer of BMC, said: “We will start a drive with the state pollution control board soon to curb the use of plastic carry bags. We would also conduct awareness programmes for people of the city on the ill-effects of the use of such bags.”

S.P. Samantroy, environmental scientist of the State Pollution Control Board, said the responsibility to implement the rules lies with the BMC.

“The BMC authorities should take action against the people who violate the rule,” she said.

As per the new Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules, 2011, the municipal authorities are responsible for implementation of the waste management system relating to plastic wastes to keep the urban environment safe.

Authorities of the Cuttack Municipality Corporation (CMC) banned the use of plastic bags through a notification issued on August 18 this year. The CMC also constituted several squads to prohibit use of plastic.

The shopping malls in Cuttack have started to replace plastic carry bags with paper and jute bags. But to the utter disappointment of the residents of the capital, no such effort has been made by the BMC.

City mayor Ananta Narayan Jena said: “We would expedite the campaign to take action against the errant shop owners.”

In Bhubaneswar, there is no blanket ban of the use of polythene carry bags. These days, malls charge Rs 1 to Rs 2 from the customers for plastic bags.

“We are charging money so that people are discouraged to use plastic carry bags. If the BMC bans the use of plastic bags like the CMC, we would replace the plastic carry bags with jute and paper carry bags,” said a manger of a leading mall.

The city generates about 450 metric tonnes of solid waste and plastic bags contribute 40 per cent of that. Such bags choke the drainage channels.

At the same time plastic bags can cause digestive disorders for animals such as cows.

Earlier, the authorities had banned the use of gutkha pouches wrapped in plastic. But due to lack of regular inspection, such pouches have again made their way into various outlets across the city.

A few shop owners are also in favour of completely banning plastic bags.

“We are aware of the environmental hazards caused by such carry bags. But the authorities should regularly raid the errant shops. The people also need to cooperate with the shop owners for a better environment,” said Gayadhar Swain, general secretary of Rajdhani Daink Haat Byabasayi Mahasangha.