Bhubaneswar: The Bhubaneswar Development Authority (BDA) has geared up to ban use of plastic at all its offices, parks and BDA market complex across the city from September 1 coinciding with its 36th Foundation Day.
The BDA has decided to make Reverse-Osmosis (RO) purified chilled and normal water fountains available in all floors of its main office building so that the employees would not use plastic bottles. As per the decision made by the authority, there will be no use of plastic folders and instead only paper or cloth folders shall be used during meetings. No plastic bottles will be used during meetings as well.
All the employees would be asked not to use plastic food packets and staff will have to carry their own lunch boxes and containers, preferably made of metal.
“If anyone is found using plastic inside parks, they will be penalysed. Recognised morning walkers’ association and park goers’ associations will be requested to implement the ‘‘no plastic’’ ban and the fine collected from violators would be used for development activities of the parks,” the BDA announced Saturday.
The authorities have threatened to cancel the licence of non-complying traders operating at BDA markets. “BDA will act strictly and cancel licences of traders in the BDA market complexes, if a trader is found violating the ‘no-plastic’ directive in the state capital,” read a BDA statement. It also said no flex banners would be allowed and cloth banners may be used for campaigns or advertisements.
A three-day plastic collection drive will also be launched September 1 to clean up parks and make them plastic-free, says the BDA directive.
In order to make the citizens act more actively on the ‘no to plastic’ front, reverse vending machines will be installed in parks for collection of empty bottles. A directive issued by the BDA said producers of plastic bottles would be asked to add the cost of managing plastic.
“Reverse vending machines will be installed at parks for collection of empty bottles. Extended Producers’ Responsibility would be in force so that the manufacturers of such products could add the cost of managing plastic while pricing their stuff,” the civic authority said.
PNN
