Amaravati: The Andhra Pradesh government is set to impose a ban on single-use plastic, apart from imposing green tax to keep the pollution levels in check.
The decision was taken by chief minister Jaganmohan Reddy after a review meeting with the forest and environment department on Thursday.
“About one lakh tonnes of waste is being generated from pharma companies. But only 30 percent of it is being refined. The remaining 70 percent is dumped in the open which pollutes the environment,” Reddy said.
He directed the officials to prepare a proposal within one month to promote protection of environment and prevention of pollution. “How will our future generations survive if we do not protect our environment and nature? Our state should be inspiring to the nation,” he said.
To go forward in this direction, he asked the officials to study various methods used by other countries to preserve the environment and control the pollution, while green taxes will be collected and single-use plastic banned.
The Centre and the state governments have identified a few hatchery zones and industries cannot be established in those specific zones.
“Even after the central and state governments announced the hatchery zones, I do not understand how permission has been given for pharma companies in the zone,” the CM said.
Taking a serious view of the pollution levels in Visakhapatnam, Reddy said, “The pollution levels in Visakhapatnam are very high. They should be controlled immediately or else there will be consequences.”
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