Traders beat ban with polybags stamped ‘approved’

Polythene carrybags with fake ‘approved’ stamps are increasingly being found in Delhi’s markets, civic authorities have said, raising fears that some manufacturers and retailers are evading stringent new rules that are meant to combat the decades-old problem of plastic pollution by outlawing bags thinner than 50 microns.

Officials in South and East Delhi Municipal Corporation said that in several of their raids on shopkeepers, they came across bags with blue stamps mentioning the thickness to be more than 50 microns, but a measurement showed them to be thinner.

Some traders said they were themselves fooled into acquiring banned bags by manufacturers. “We are aware that plastic bags less than 50 microns are banned in Delhi. Hence, we asked our supplier for bags more than 51 microns. We got bags with the word ‘approved’ stamped on it, but when civic officials came and measured them, they were found to be less than 51 microns. We were slapped a penalty of ₹5,000,” said a shopkeeper in an East Delhi locality. Officials do not keep a record of how many bags were carrying the misleading stamps, but the total seizure of illegal carrybags by the municipal corporations has exceeded 30,000 kilos since August last year, when the National Green Tribunal ordered the ban.

“EDMC is continuing its anti-polythene bag drive. During inspections in shops and local markets, we found bags measuring 40 micron in thickness but claiming to be over 51 micron,” said ML Sharma, assistant commissioner of Shahdara south of the East Delhi Municipal Corporation.

Experts said such cheating was expected. “The civic agencies would face a huge challenge if they need to visit each and every shop and measure the bags being used. The only solution, as we had earlier suggested, is to put a blanket ban on single-use plastic bags,” said Chitra Mukherjee, head of programme, Chintan – a Delhibased environment advocacy group.

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