Secunderabad: Three commercial units sealed for dumping plastic in drains

SECUNDERABAD: In a first, three major commercial units at Rasoolpura in Secunderabad Cantonment received notices for violating rules on single-use plastic and dumping thermocol and other waste in open drains.
Officials of SCB inspected Pearl Wash Laundromat, Gati Kintetsu Express Private Ltd and V-Trans (India) Ltd and sealed them.
“These units were found dumping banned plastic material and thermocol in the open nalas, which has become a menace in Rasoolpura.Despite closing the units, they continue to violate the norms and obstruct the free flow of drainage water in the nalas,” SCB sanitation superintendent (solid waste management),M Devender said.
He said notices were issued to the commercial units. “We served notices to the three commercial units under section of 289 of Cantonment Act 2006.”
Section 289 of the Act states that “whoever in a Cantonment manufactures, supplies, carries or uses for packaging or any other purposes material of non-biodegradable nature, including polythene bags, shall be punished with fine which may extend to Rs 5,000 or imprisonment of six months.”
Four more sections — 211 (no person shall throw, empty or turn into any Cantonment drain), 244 (conviction be punishable with a fine which may extend to Rs 1 lakh), 277 (trade licences) and 278 (kept open without a licence granted and may stop the use of any such premises) of the Cantonment Act — can be invoked, an official explained.
Meanwhile, SCB officials are preparing brochures on ban of single-use plastic. “In a few days, these brochures will be distributed to every commercial unit in Cantonment to create awareness on the ban of single-use plastic,” said SCB deputy chief executive officer Vijay Kumar Balan Nair.