Telangana govt. bans plastic in civic offices

The Telangana government has instructed municipal bodies across the state to stop usage of plastic.

Municipal Administration and Urban Development (MAUD) Principal Secretary Arvind Kumar, issued guidelines to discontinue the usage of single-use plastic items, like plastic and tetra bottles, single-use straws, plastic/styrofoam tea cups/containers, plastic below 50 micron plastic or plastic coated items and any other forms of single use /banned plastic.

Kumar cited the example of Municipal Administration and Urban Development Minister KT Rama Rao who has stopped using plastic bottles in his office and switched to using steel tumblers.

"No office shall be found to be in use or possession of below 50-micron plastic bags as mandated in the Municipal Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016," the guidelines said.

"Furthermore, it is mandated that all offices follow the twin bin system and dispose of plastic waste strictly in compliance with Solid Waste Management Rules, 2000 and guidelines of Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) towards plastic disposal," the letter states.

"The orders come into force with immediate effect," it added.