#Plastic : Refusing
to fade away
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A few weeks back , Maharashtra Government banned all
sorts of plastic packaging materials
This was ( as expected ) followed by protests , not
only from users but also from manufacturers / dealers etc
Then the plastic manufacturers challenged the ban in
High Court ( hearing was to start on 4th April )
Not surprising since , in Maharashtra , there are :
* 950 bottle units
* 455 plastic bag / container units
* 4000 – 5000 other units engaged in
processing of plastic packaging
Between them , these units employ some 4 – 5 lakh persons , whose jobs are threatened and
have annual turnover of around , Rs 4,000 crore
Since announcement of the ban , hardly a day passes
without the government coming out with some fresh announcement / clarification
/ notification / amendment / withdrawal / suspension etc
No one seems to have a grip on the situation !
REASON ?
It is simple . Apparently , no one in Maha
Govt had worked out a clear cut – and long term – plan called :
“ STEP by STEP ,
DISMANTLING of the PLASTIC INDUSTRY over 20 YEARS “,
Which sharply laid out ,
“ WHO will STOP doing WHAT , and WHEN “
And published it , way back , in 2000
Today’s chaos / heartburn / anger / frustration (
among users and manufacturers ) is entirely due to this , “ Pathetic Lack of Long Range Planning “
And , believe me , 20
years from now , history will repeat , when Health Minister in the
Central Government suddenly wakes up and tells his Ministry Secretary :
“ Cigarettes and tobacco are causing 12 million pre-mature
deaths in India ( - current figure is 6 million )
Release a “ fatwah “ , banning all tobacco products ,
within next 6 months “
If we want to avoid repetition of history , I urge
today’s Health Minister to read :
Going Up
in Smoke ? [ 18 Aug
2013 ]
If he does , he will have also figured out what
alternate jobs to provide for :
* 380 lakh workers engaged
by tobacco industry
* 25 lakh pan-beedi shop walas
06 April 2018
www.hemenparekh.in
/ blogs
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