The Kolkata Municipal Corporation (KMC) does not have the infrastructure to visit shops and markets and confiscate single-use plastic items, which are among the banned plastic items, mayor Firhad Hakim said on Friday.
Hakim put the onus of stopping the use of these items on police and the state pollution control board. They must reach the source of these products by raiding stores in Burrabazar, he said.
The ban on all single-use plastic items in the state has been in force since July 1, 2022.
The mayor made the comments in reply to a question on why a ban on certain plastic products was not being enforced in the Kolkata municipal area. His attention was drawn to the fact that the city's markets were flooded with banned plastic products.
The Telegraph recently reported that members of the Assembly's standing committee on urban development and municipal affairs had come across dozens of plastic items blocking a stretch of the Guniaagachhi canal in Mukundapur.
Any plastic item that is less than 120 micron in thickness is banned in Bengal. The curb came into effect on December 31.
The ban is a step-up from a curb on plastic products less than 75 micron in thickness, which had come into effect on July 1, 2022.
However, plastic bags less than 120 micron in thickness are freely available in city's markets.
Single-use plastic items are those that are made of plastic less than 50 micron in thickness.
"The KMC does not have the infrastructure to raid markets and shops to find out who are using single-use plastic products. We have conducted awareness campaigns (against the use of single-use plastic)," Hakim said.
"The police and the pollution control board must raid the source of these plastic items. They can raid the stores in Burrabazar."
The KMC had last year issued a notification announcing that any trader found using single-use plastic products would be fined Rs 500. A buyer spotted with such a product will be fined Rs 50.
A KMC official said only six persons were fined so far in the city.
Plastic bottle
The KMC urged all Kolkatans to collect single-use plastic bottles and create objects such as plant pots out of them. The makers should take a picture of such an object and post it on the Facebook events page of KMC Plastic-Bottle Crafts Challenge. The makers of 10 best entries will get a chance to show their crafts to Hakim, said mayoral council member Sandipan Saha.