A month on, Delhi yet to notify ban on plastic bags

New Delhi: The Delhi government is yet to notify the ban on plastic bags due to "technical difficulties", an official said, even as the state cabinet of Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit approved it a month ago.

The Delhi cabinet Sep 11 approved a blanket ban on manufacture, storage and usage of plastic bags in the capital. "There are some technical issues in the process of notifying the ban on plastic bags but they will be sorted out," a senior official told a news agency. Asked about the technicalities, the official refused to elaborate. "The file pertaining to the same has already been sent to the lieutenant governor. We hope the ban will be notified in a week," said the official. Once the order is notified, the use of plastic to pack magazines, invitation and greeting cards will also be prohibited. A government document states that "no person, including a shopkeeper, vendor, wholesaler, retailer, trader and hawker, shall sell or store or use any kind of plastic carrybag for storing or dispensing eatables or non-eatable goods or materials". The notification shall not affect the use of plastic carrybags as specified under the Bio-Medical Waste Management and Handling Rules, 1998. Earlier, the manufacture, stocking, distribution or sale of carry-bags made of virgin, recycled or compostable plastic less than 40 microns in thickness was banned. IANS