The state wide ban of plastic in Maharashtra that was imposed from Saturday will result in loss of up to Rs. 15,000 crore and nearly 3 lakh jobs, Plastic Bags Manufacturers Association of India general secretary Neemit Punamiya told PTI on Monday.
Terming the ban as ‘discriminatory’, he said that there was no other option but for the 2500 members of the association to shut shop. Insiders from the industry have revealed that job losses from the ban will impact the state’s GDP, and increase bank’s bad loans.
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Consumers of plastic have citied inconvenience at the ban, and retailers have hit at the hefty fines, saying that it will make them financially unviable, forcing them to turn away customers.
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For first time offenders, the authorities have imposed a fine of Rs. 5,000, while for second time offenders, the fine is 10,000. Third time offenders will face a fine of 25,000 along with three month imprisonment.
Earlier, on March 23, the state had announced a plastic ban on ‘manufacture, use, sale, distribution and storage of plastic materials such as one-time-use bags, spoons, plates, PET and PETE bottles and thermocol items’. The government had been given three months time to dispose the existing stocks, which had ended on June 23.
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