Suresh Chandra Mohapatra, the Chief Secretary of Odisha, has directed state government representatives to take action to ensure that the ban on single-use plastic is strictly enforced (SUP).
After reviewing the actions taken in this regard, the Chief Secretary, who was presiding over the state-level Task Force Committee meeting, issued orders to District Collectors, Divisional Forest Officers (DFOs), and field officers of the concerned departments to strengthen the law and take necessary actions.
Additionally, Mohapatra has mandated that district collectors and DFOs produce monthly reports on single-use plastic following regular enforcement in public areas, particularly tourist hotspots. The Chief Secretary also emphasized the usage of plastic trash in cement and road development.
Mohapatra urged the police to launch widespread awareness campaigns to encourage the public to bring their own bag to markets in addition to educating the general public about the need to ban plastic.
In order to honor Gandhi Jayanti on October 2, 2019, the Odisha government prohibited single-use plastic in all of the state's urban areas. The restriction was initially enforced in urban areas before being expanded to all rural areas of the State.
Additionally, the State government had mandated that all single-use plastic manufacturers and distributors use up all of their inventories by July 1, 2022, when all of the aforementioned activities would be outlawed.
