MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government has extended the plastic ban to the sale and manufacture of PET bottles having a liquid holding capacity of less than 0.5 litres in the state.PET (polyethylene terephthalate) is semiporous and absorbs molecules of the food or beverage contained, and the residue is difficult to remove.The government issued the final notification effecting the ban on plastic carry bags regarding their thickness, plastic and thermocol cutlery across the state late on Friday evening (TOI has a copy of the notification).The notification is silent on the government's decision to levy a fine of Rs 5000 to Rs 25,000 and a jail term of three months for violating the ban. This reflects to the fact that since there is a huge opposition from several quarters of the society against the ban, the state government did not want to spell out the penalty in the first step itself.The notification, Maharashtra Plastic and Thermocol Products (Manufacture, Usage, Sale, Transport, Handling and Storage), notification, 2018, states that the government will be implementing the ban from the date of issues of notification, but has given traders, manufacturers and even consumers a time period of one month to dispose of the banned items in their possession. The local administration across the state will be asked to start collection points to accept the banned items from the consumers, while traders and manufacturers will have to look for recycling facilities to dispose of their goods. TOI was the first one to report that the Maharashtra government was planning to bring a plastic ban in the state.The notification also mentions as part of the rarely used provision of the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, which mentions 'extended producers responsibility' to ensure creation of a collect-back system of plastic waste.Consumers will have to pay Rs 1 and Rs 2 extra above the minimum retail price (MRP) for buying a PET bottles of 0.5 litre and 1 litre respectively. The additional 'buy-pack' price will be returned to the consumers once he takes the bottle back to the retailer. "The government is looking to create a mechanism to ensure that every plastic bottle that is manufactured is recycled," said an official.The government has also prescribed an additional charge of Rs 50 paise on every milk pouch one purchases. However, milk pouches will have to be of a thickness more than 50 microns and milk diaries must make attempts to provide milk in glass bottle.The notification mentions that the government is working on a plan to levy a refundable ‘recycle or reuse’ cess on manufacturers. If the manufacturers recycle all that they have produced, the cess will be refunded. Else, the government will use that collected amount for recycling facilities. The government is still working out the details with the GST commissionerate and local bodies as they they already have a taxation structure for these manufacturers.The state government has given the powers to implement the ban to local administrations like BMC official, gram sevaks, talathis, collectors, CEO, tourism police, forest officials.