Instablog

Sreeja, Mumbai ,1 July


Blame it on the BMC’s half-hearted efforts, the shopkeepers or the customers, it is raining polythene bags in the city. Go to any local market in the sprawling city, the banned polythene bags are there for all to see.
The local government in Mumbai, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), has intensified its drive against the use of polythene bags due to the fear that the extensive use of the banned product may cause floods as was witnessed on July 26, 2005 in Mumbai. As the rainy season has set in, the BMC has woken up as experts are of the view that the July 2005 deluge was a result of the Mithi River, flowing through the heart of the city, overflowing because garbage had blocked the flow of water.
And to ensure the city’s drains do not choke on garbage and debris, the BMC has decided to impose a fine on people found dumping garbage in them. If anybody is caught throwing garbage in a drain, he or she will have to pay anything between Rs 100 and Rs 5,000 as a fine. For the first time, BMC teams formed in every ward under the ward officer will go around the city keeping an eye out for offenders. The amount of fine will depend on how much garbage an individual dumps. Clean up marshals will also be told to be alert.
There’s no laid-down formula to charge offenders. It depends on how much plastic they are found with. If there are 2-3 plastic bags, we charge Rs500; a big plastic bag is charged Rs100. If vegetable vendor has 6-7 packs with 600 plastic bags in each, the fine goes up.
But in spite of all the BMC’s efforts and the state government banning the product, it is everywhere in the city.There is a blame game going on in the city for the growing plastic bag menace. While the government blame the shopkeepers, they in turn blame the customers. “We are well aware of the law against plastic bags, but what do we do when customers ask us for bags. Why should we lose out on business? We are caught between the BMC’s fine and the customers’ demands,” vendors say.
Who is to be blamed for this extremely pathetic state of affairs on this grave issue?. It is sure, we all are responsible for it.But, primarily though the government had ritually banned the product to assuage the sad feelings of the people after the 2005 deluge, it never implemented the ban in letter and spirit.
The law is there, but implement it. That is the key.