Telangana bans sale of plastic

Hyderabad: Making it clear that the state government was committed to release Rs 339 crore every month to gram panchayats in the state. CM K. Chandrasekhar Rao on Thursday announced that the government has decided to ban manufacture and sale of plastic, which is harming the environment and even putting the very existence of life in danger.

While reviewing the implementation of 30 days action plan which was taken up to make villages clean and green with the district collectors and panchayatraj officer along with the senior officers and ministers at Pragathi Bhavan, Mr Rao said that the imposing the ban on plastic in the state discussed at the Cabinet meeting. He instructed the officials to prepare guidelines for imposing ban on use and manufacturing of plastic products in the state and place it before the state government.

The Palle Pragathi special programme held for 30 days in the villages state-wide to improve greenery and cleanliness has been a grand success, he maintained.

While informing that the each collector will be given Rs 2 crore funds to spend the amount for taking up emergency works for the village development and sanitation works, he asked the collectors to give special focus where there is less forestry while spending Rs 2 crores as per their discretion. While appreciating centricity department which has stood at number one position in the 30-day special plan drive programme, Mr Rao instructed that three-phase power should be available in the Tribal areas, Thandas and Gudems.

Mr Rao constituted a three member Committee with senior IAS officers Somesh Kumar, Raghu-nandan Rao and Ajay Mishra to monitor to power supply activities in the villages.

Stating that yearly and five-year plans are ready as well as the green plan, Mr Rao said that the district panchayat officers should take the main responsibility of  utilising the funds which are released monthly  properly and bring in the required change in the villages. Mr Rao suggested that NAREGA funds should be utilised for growing plants, removing the debris and he hoped that adequate employees and funds are given to the villages and hence there should be a change in the villages’ at least now.