Hyderabad: The widespread use and sale of single-use plastic (SUP) items among local shops and street vendors, the Telangana Urban Local Bodies (ULBs), will collaborate with the Telangana State Pollution Control Board (TSPCB) to enforce SUP bans.
This initiative, aligned with the standard operating procedure (SOP) outlined by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), will be implemented four days a month until June, as per a circular issued by the Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) department.
The enforcement drives will encompass surprise field inspections across various locations, including local shops, street vendors, wholesale markets, interstate borders, industries, bus depots, and railway stations.
Special attention will be given to all stakeholders involved in the production, manufacturing, trading, and retailing of SUP items, with potential deployment of police forces as required during the inspections.
The schedule for these drives will be determined by the TSPCB in consultation with the MAUD department and must be completed by the 25th of each month. Inspections will be facilitated through a field inspection app, with reports submitted on the SUP compliance monitoring portal.
Reporting procedures have been established, with the department responsible for disclosing violations and actions taken against commercial establishments, while the TSPCB will handle violations related to industries.
Inspection reports will include information on SUP item suppliers, plastic raw material suppliers (for banned SUP producers), and SUP producers (for plastic waste recyclers producing granules).
To ensure effective implementation, municipal commissioners have been instructed to form district-level task forces and execute enforcement drives as per the directives issued by the TSPCB.
