Bihar to enforce ban on plastic bags from 25 October in cities, 25 November in rural areas

Patna: Plastic bags will be completely banned in urban areas of Bihar from 25 October and in rural areas from 25 November, the state government informed the Patna High Court on Monday.

Advocate General Lalit Kishore, who appeared for the state government, informed an high court bench that “there will be complete ban on use of plastic bags in any form from 25 October in urban areas, while it will be banned in rural areas from 25 November across the state.”

The bench of Chief Justice MR Shah and Justice Ashutosh Kumar was hearing a PIL for banning the use of plastic or polythene bags.

Kishore made it clear that all types of plastic bags, irrespective of their thickness, would be banned in the state from the mentioned dates.

The court had taken note of a news report in a Hindi daily on 23 June on the pollution in a pond located on the premises of sacred Mahabodhi temple in Gaya. It had asked the state government to make a law for banning the use of plastic bags along with a provision for penalty for its violators.

The government had in the middle of September come out with a draft notification for a blanket ban on the manufacture, sale and use of plastic after seeking objections and suggestions from people, various organisations, institutions and stakeholders.

As per the draft notification, the plastic bags are non-biodegradable, produce toxic gases on burning, cause blockage of sewers and drains and pose a threat to the life of cattle.