Haryana minister of state for environment and forests, Kiran Choudhry has directed the officers of Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) to prepare a list of all plastic bag manufacturers in the state and take steps to completely ban the use of plastic bags.
Choudhry was presiding over the seventh meeting of the Board on Wednesday. The Board has given notices to 159 Aravalli Hills defaulters and five prosecution cases have been filed against them.
She directed the officials to take strict actions against the defaulters. During her tour of the Aravalli Hills area she found violations were being made despite the strict guidelines of the Supreme Court of India. All defaulters would be punished severely and such activities would be stopped completely.
The minister urged the regional officers of the Board to deal with the pollution problem with strictness and sincerity as pollution-free environment is the need of the hour. She directed all the regional officers to appoint environment wardens in each ward in order to keep a check on the use of plastic bags and products. Choudhry asked them to spread awareness through rallies and to conduct activities pertaining to environment in the state. She also asked the officers to submit a detailed report of the various activities, which included awareness campaigns, functioning of the eco clubs in accordance to the calendar of events issued by the Board.
Choudhry said that head office of the Board would issue no objection certificates (NOC) on pollution basis to units having an investment of over Rs 5 crore. These units included hot mix plant, stone crushers, construction projects, which had a discharge of 10 KLD or more, units covered under the environment impact assessment (EIA) notification. Units, which had an investment of less than Rs 5 crore would be issued NOC on pollution basis by the district-level clearance committee (DLCC) headed by the respective deputy commissioners as per the Haryana Industrial Promotion Rules 2007. The units included brick kilns and other plants machineries.
She directed the Board to prosecute the violators, failing which the concerned official would be penalised for negligence. She stressed that bio-medical waste should be disposed off with utmost care and ensure that various medical institutions were adhering to the disposal rules and regulations in the state.
The minister directed the Board to formulate a proper NOC procedure and make it available online with each stage being properly explained in order to maintain transparency. She also asked the officers to amend the notification on the functioning of the stone crushers of the state to clearly list the norms and criteria for closure and functioning of the stone crushers.