Islamabad: The government intends to penalise the use of plastic bags from August 14 onwards, a news source quoted Minister of State for Climate Change Zartaj Gul as saying. She expressed her views on the matter during a press briefing held on Tuesday.
She said that shopkeepers found committing violation of the said regulation would be liable to pay fines. She added that two million residents of the capital city utilised approximately eight million plastic bags on a daily basis; and alarming situation that required immediate precautionary measures.
The minister also requested the support of civil society, media, NGOs, and other institutions on this front. She further revealed that the shopkeepers who do not adopt the said policy would be required to pay:
PKR 100,000 on first violation
PKR 200,000 on second violation
PKR 500,000 on third violation
Following in the capital administration’s footsteps, the Punjab government has also announced to ban the use of plastic bags. Provincial Minister for Environment Protection Muhammad Rizwan stated that his department had sent a proposal to the chief secretary to this effect.
Rizwan added that the executive would follow the orders issued by the High Court pertaining to this issue and impose a complete ban on plastic bags by the end of 2019. He said that the provincial government would also table a bill in the assembly for this purpose.
