The State government has decided to implement the ordered of the Supreme Court to ban the use of plastic bags.
The Apex Court had given the order following a PIL by A Mithra H Patel in 1996. Revealing this to media persons, Minister for Municipal Administration Anam Ramnarayan Reddy revealed that Chief Minister K Rosaiah was keen to impose the ban.
Reddy revealed that the government will implement the court order, and that plastic bags less than 40 microns will be banned. He said that the government's keenness to impose the ban can be gauged by the fact that it was contemplating institutionalizing the Green Leaf Awards to spread the message.
The Chief Minister was in favour of a proposal to discourage 60 microns worth volume of plastic bags, Reddy revealed.
According to estimates, 12,501 metric tonnes of garbage was generated daily, the minister said, after attending a review meeting on municipal solid waste management, which was chaired by the Chief Minister.
The minister said that the CM was keen on quick disposal or its conversion to power, for the purpose of which 3 private companies have been named.