“There is a lot of resentment among the people and the traders about the steep fine. It should be revised,” he added. “There is a lot of resentment among the people and the traders about the steep fine. It should be revised,” he added.

DAYS after the Maharashtra government enforced a ban on plastic bags and various single-use plastic items, the BJP has demanded that the ban be stalled till December 2019, on the grounds that adequate alternatives have not been made available to residents. A delegation of small-scale traders from various industries, led by Raj Purohit, the BJP legislator from Colaba and the party’s chief whip in the state Assembly, met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday about issues faced by traders.

“Though the plastic ban is a good move, there has been no alternative arrangement made for the banned items. It is causing a lot of inconvenience to the people and traders,” said Purohit, suggesting that the government should form a joint committee comprising officials, traders and environment experts to figure out alternative arrangements.

He also claimed that the fine for violating the ban was steep and the fine amount should be between Rs 100 and Rs 500. “There is a lot of resentment among the people and the traders about the steep fine. It should be revised,” he added.

Purohit demanded that the government should provide financial assistance to plastic manufacturers to encourage recycling of plastic. “The CM has promised to look into the issues raised by us,” said Purohit. Meanwhile, officials from the State Environment Department said a notification allowing the use of plastic in packaging by retailers is likely to be issued on Friday.

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