by Dasun Edirisinghe
The Western Provincial Council is awaiting the approval of new legislation by Parliament to implement tough restrictions on the use of polythene in the Western Province.
Provincial Environment Minister Udaya Prabath Gammanpila told The Island that the draft Bill sent for Parliamentary approval on September 07 was yet to be approved.
Minister Gammanpila said that his ministry was keen to take tough action as polythene had became a major problem in the city, often clogging its drainage system.
"According to our investigations, most mosquito breeding grounds have been created because of haphazard disposal of polythene," Gammanpila said.
He The provincial council as well as local government authorities had to spend millions to clean up the mess, he said.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who visited the Galle Face Green on a recent morning, unhappy with the way polythene was being disposed, had ordered that action be taken to stop the bad practice, Gammanpila said.
Sri Lanka imported 176,204,056 kilos of polythene in 2008 at cost of Rs. 29,195 mn. Some 116,249,805 kilos of ploythene worth Rs. 18, 205 mn was imported in 2009.
"We assumed that 50% of the imported stock was used in the Western Province," Gammanpila said.
Banning polythene at once was not possible since people were addicted to its use, but most of the countries had already enforced some restrictions on its use, he said.
Bangladesh has banned the use of polythene decorations in the capital city and some countries like Australia, China, Ireland and Belgium had increased taxes on polythene, according to Gammanpila. India, too, has enforced some standards on polythene production.
When contacted for comment, Secretary General of Parliament, Dhammika Kithulgoda said that there was procedure to be followed in approving a statute and it was being followed.
Head of the Bills Office of Parliament, Ranee Govindasamy said a standing committee to look into the matter had been appointed and the drafted statute was being whetted.
http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=35637
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