Millennium Post (Kolkata)

Agri co-op societies to be digitised in Haryana

- MPOST BUREAU

NEW DELHI: A Keeping in line with the commitment­s of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make India free from singleuse plastic (SUP), the government is all set to ban the use of SUP from July 1. The decision in this regard has been taken in pursuance of its global climate goals to prevent its harmful effects on the environmen­t.

While talking to reporters, Union Environmen­t Min Bhupender Yadav stressed that now no more time would be given to industry as they were told in advance about government’s decision to completely ban the use of ‘hazardous’ plastic items which are meant for single-use only.

“The government has given enough time to the industry and the general public to prepare for the ban on single-use plastic (SUP) items. Now, the government hopes for everyone’s cooperatio­n in implementi­ng it from

CHANDIGARH: Taking another step towards digitizati­on all Primary Agricultur­e Cooperativ­e Societies (PACS) of Haryana will also be digitized. Under this, 307 packs of the state will be fully computeriz­ed by August 31, 2022.

This informatio­n was given in a meeting held under the Chairmansh­ip of Chief Sec, Sh. Sanjeev Kaushal regarding the status of digitizati­on in primary agricultur­al cooperativ­es.

Sanjeev Kaushal directed the concerned officers that by the month of November, almost all 730 PACS of Haryana should be fully computeriz­ed. No delay will be tolerated in this work, so the responsibi­lity of the people involved in this project should be fixed.

July 1,” Yadav said.

The notificati­on to phase out 19 SUP items by July 1, 2022, was issued in August 2021 under the Environmen­t Protection Act (EPA) and any violation will invite punitive action, including a fine or a jail term, detailed under Section 15 of the Act.

The minister further said, “I have met the industry representa­tives and the government hopes for their cooperatio­n in phasing out single-use plastic items.”

On August 12 last year, the ministry issued a notificati­on

After being computeriz­ed, training of the employees of PACS must be done for smooth operation.

He said that the State Government has taken this decision to digitize the activities like PACS with the banking system, accounting, loan and advance so that the work can be done smoothly along with ensuring transparen­cy in the working of PACS.

t was informed in the meeting that under the special module prepared under CBS network, work is being done to computeriz­e the PACS on a pilot basis, which is in the final stage. In the coming days, the PACS will be integrated with the special module, on the basis of which 307 PACS will be fully computeriz­ed by August 31. prohibitin­g the manufactur­e, import, stocking, distributi­on, sale and use of identified SUP commoditie­s, including polystyren­e and expanded polystyren­e from July 1, 2022.

The identified SUP items include earbuds, plastic sticks for balloons, flags, candy sticks, ice-cream sticks, polystyren­e (thermocol), plates, cups, glasses, forks, spoons, knives, straws, trays, wrapping or packaging films around sweets boxes, invitation cards, cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners of less than 100 micron, and stirrers.

According to Central Pollution Control Board, India generates around 2.4 lakh tonnes of SUP per annum and the per capita production is 0.18 kg per year.

However, the minister clarified that plastic used for packaging in the FMCG sector is not banned but will be covered under the Extended Producer Responsibi­lity (EPR) guidelines and producers, manufactur­ers, and brand owners will have to ensure the collection of such plastic back from the market.

The ministry has also notified plant derivative­s-based ecofriendl­y cutlery like bamboo cutlery, Agri and plant residuebas­ed cutlery, wooden products, and barrier-coated paper as alternativ­es for the banned SUP items such as forks, spoons, knives, cups, etc.

For SUP trays, the ministry has recommende­d using plantain leaves, plant material-based trays, paper trays, areca leaf plates, glass/metal trays, etc.

Paper-based straws, compostabl­e plastic straws, biodegrada­ble plastic, etc have been suggested as alternativ­es for straws and stirrers, while paper/ cloth flags, special paper-based earbud sticks, compostabl­e plastic and biodegrada­ble plasticbas­ed sticks, wood-based ice cream sticks, wood/paper-based candy sticks, etc have been recommende­d as alternativ­es for earbuds with plastic sticks, plastic sticks for the balloon, plastic flags, candy sticks, ice cream sticks, etc.

According to

Central Pollution Control Board, India generates around 2.4 lakh tonnes of SUP per annum and the per capita production is 0.18 kg per year

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REPRESENTA­TIONAL IMAGE

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