New Delhi (CNN) Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's bold plan to tackle single-use plastics has been scrapped.

In a sweeping Independence Day address on August 15 , Modi suggested that he would ban single-use plastic across the country from Wednesday, the 150th anniversary of the birth of independence leader Mahatma Gandhi.

"Can we take this first big step on October 2 towards making India free from single-use plastic? Come my countrymen, let us take this forward," Modi told a crowd of thousands gathered at Delhi's historic Red Fort for the annual Independence Day speech.

"Single-use plastic is the root cause of many of our problems -- but the solution has to come from within, from us," he added.

Modi reiterated this just days later during his monthly radio address. He announced the September 11 launch of the annual Swachhata hi Seva campaign (Cleanliness is Service), saying: "This time, our emphasis must be on plastic... Let us celebrate Gandhi Jayanti (Gandhi's Birthday) this year as a mark of a plastic-free Mother India," he said on August 25.

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