Guwahati: In Assam, the production and consumption of PET water bottles with a capacity of less than 1 litre will be outlawed as of October 2 of this year. Also, Assam will ban single-use plastic starting on October 2.
The Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said: "The state cabinet has approved to prohibit the production and use of drinking water bottles made of PET that are less than 1 litre in volume and strict implementation of the ban on single-use plastic in the state as per the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2021. The ban will be put into effect from October 2 of this year with a 3-month transition period provided up to that date."
According to Sarma, the Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2021 have been adopted by the state cabinet to outlaw the production and use of drinking water bottles made of PET that are less than 1 litre in volume and strict execution of the prohibition on single-use plastic in the state. The ban will be put into effect from October 2 of this year with a 3-month transition period provided up to that date.
"Moreover, we have decided that from October 2 next year, use of drinking water bottles made of PET of less than 2 litres will also be banned," he added.
Some important decisions were also made by the state cabinet on Friday.
The Chief Minister added that the state cabinet approved the consolidated administration for Phase I of the ADB-funded "Climate Resilient Brahmaputra Integrated Flood and Riverbank Erosion Risk Management Project," which will be carried out by the Flood and River Erosion Management Agency of Assam at a cost of 2097 crore.
In the districts of Tinsukia, Dibrugarh, Morigaon, Kamrup, and Goalpara located along the Brahmaputra River's most vulnerable stretches, the project would implement integrated flood and riverbank erosion risk management operations.
Sarma stated that the possibility of doing anti-erosion work along 72.7 km and embankment construction along 3.27 km are both under consideration.
He stated that a special programme costing an estimated 130 crore had been approved by the state cabinet to provide four 9-watt LED bulbs to around 50 million low-income homes in Assam for free.
"This will guarantee reduced energy consumption for users, thereby reducing their bills, while also assisting in managing electricity load during peak hours," the Chief Minister said.
Meanwhile, the state cabinet has given the green light for retired officers to be appointed as inquiry officers to conduct investigations inside their respective departments.
Sarma added that retired officials of at least the rank of Joint Secretary or equivalent and age 70 or above will be given a deadline for submitting inquiry reports to the disciplinary body.—Inputs from Agencies