Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 31 Aug: Dehradun district administration has launched a comprehensive campaign to enforce the ban on single‑use plastic in compliance with the directions of Uttarakhand High Court and the Garhwal Commissioner. Acting on the instructions of District Magistrate Dr Ashish Chauhan, Dehradun Municipal Corporation today nominated 50 sector officers across all the 100 wards to ensure effective monitoring and strict adherence to the prohibition.
Additional District Magistrate (ADM) (Finance and Revenue) KK Mishra shared that the campaign will target the manufacture, import, storage, distribution, sale and use of banned plastic products and to enforce the ban, inspections and action against industries and factories would also be carried out. He added that the sector officers will coordinate with departments and submit detailed reports to the administration. Joint Commissioner (Investigation/Enforcement), State Tax, Dehradun has been designated as nodal officer to coordinate with the municipal bodies, the nagar panchayats, the gram panchayats and the district panchayat to ensure compliance and provide reports to the district office.
In addition, the municipal corporation officials and the staff will also be deployed for regular monitoring in all the wards, working in coordination with sector officers. Directions have also been issued to the municipal bodies in Vikasnagar, Herbertpur, Doiwala, Mussoorie and Selaqui to ensure enforcement in their respective areas. In Rishikesh, the municipal commissioner will act as the nodal officer and would oversee both the plastic ban and a cleanliness drive and would also submit reports including before‑and‑after Google photographs of sanitation work.
All the sub‑divisional magistrates (SDMs) have been instructed to ensure enforcement in their areas, while the Senior Superintendent of Police has been asked to direct the police officers, station house officers (SHOs) and chowki in‑charges to extend necessary support to ensure effective implementation. Nodal officers will also be appointed from the police department. In rural areas, the District Panchayati Raj Officer and Additional Chief Officer of the district panchayat will coordinate with the gram panchayat representatives to run awareness campaigns and enforce the ban. The District Legal Services Authority and Uttarakhand Pollution Control Board will also assist the nodal and the sector officers in this drive.
The sector officers have been directed to regularly visit their allotted wards and submit reports with Google photographs of action taken against single‑use plastic within three days. During the cleanliness drive, they would be required to ensure removal of accumulated waste and provide daily reports with before‑and‑after photographs. The administration has instructed all the nodal, co‑nodal and sector officers to also carry out awareness and publicity activities every day, with the arrangements coming into immediate effect under the DM’s orders.
