Himachal’s poly ban remains plastic

Some 56 such sweepers collect what amounts to nearly 25 tonnes of garbage everyday during the tourist season.

With the move in Manali falling flat on its face for a number of reasons, the plan to rid the entire state of the menace has obviously been pushed back by several years. The Himachal Pradesh Non-biodegradable Garbage Control Act 1995 bans the use of recycled plastic and polythene in the entire state in any case.

As a special measure, the government passed special orders banning the use of polythene completely in the Manali town in 1999, says Manali SDM Vinod Kumar. The idea, he reveals, was to replicate the ban in the entire state depending on the success of the Manali model. ‘‘And the Manali model,’’ he admits, ‘‘has been a complete failure.’’

Last year, he adds, ‘‘we brought down eight truckloads of polythene from Rohtang Pass after a clean-up.’’ The government’s reasons for the failure are the usual ones. ‘‘Not enough staff,’’ says Kumar.

When it began in 1999, the state introduced a fine of Rs 5,000 for defaulters (which means shopkeepers or buyers using polythene) and a jail term of one month. The authorities started campaigns and got jute and cloth bags distributed at subsidised rates of Rs 5 each. It hasn’t worked that way.

So much so that no one has ever been booked or convicted. Officials at the Manali police station say they don’t know such a ban exists. ‘‘We don’t even have a copy of the Act or the notification. I don’t think we are supposed to arrest people for using polythene,’’ says a local police official. He confirms there has never been a challan or a case against anyone found using polythene.

‘‘Of course, police are supposed to act and so is the SDM,’’ says Manali Nagar Panchayat (NP) Secretary Shiv S. Sen. There are five different authorities in Manali other than him, he says, who ought to book defaulters, ‘‘but it never happens.’’ On an average, the NP challans three people in a month for using polythene. Even the state authorities seem to have forgotten all about the notification.

‘‘I didn’t know such a ban exists in Manali,’’ State Environment Secretary Avay Shukla says.

There is plenty of plastic in Manali. ‘‘I don’t know where it comes from but there is certainly lots of it,’’ says Raj Kumar, a Nagar Panchayat sweeper in the early morning cleaning drive, pointing at a heap of garbage, mostly polythene and plastic.

A local baker, travelling in his Maruti van, distributes polythene packs of loaves of bread, buns and other bakery products. ‘‘You can get these at Rs 60 for a kilo here,’’ he says.