Mumbai: In a world of plastic intentions, plastic promises and plastic bags, while the latter are the citys civic agencys obvious priority, the other two components cannot be overlooked. Why else would Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which recently ran a campaign between June 17 and July 18 against plastic less than 50 microns thick, sell it back by the hordes to the highest bidder? The corporation has always insisted that the main reason for the 2005 floods in Mumbai was the uncontrolled use of the synthetic item.
According to civic officials, when the quantity of seized plastic reaches 1 lakh kg, BMC auctions it off. Last year 1 lakh kg of plastic was sold at Rs 27 lakh. This practice has been going on for years as there is no other alternative with BMC to dispose of these items, informed a senior civic official from the solid waste management department. While he added that the winning bidder is told to recycle, there is no means to verify whether he actually complies.
During its month-long drive, BMC gave instructions to all ward offices to set up a surveillance squad with four officers from various departments " including solid waste management, building and factory, maintenance, and security. Shopkeeper and manufacturers found breaking rules were penalised.
Running in circles...
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02:00 PM, Jul 30, 2012
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