Although the Sector 17 commercial market has been identified for the first phase for the enforcement of the ban, officials are yet to decide the mode of its implementation after it is notified.

Earlier, members of the Chandigarh Pollution Control Committee held meetings with several market representatives including the Sector 17 traders. The Sector 17 traders, who organised several functions, seminars and rallies favoured restriction on recycling of polybags. There are three such industries in the city.

A senior UT official said that the committee had already submitted the proposal in this regard to the Administration which is actively considering its implementation. "The notification may be issued any time in January," he added.

In a circular issued to the Administration a few months ago, the Centre had outlined a method to check the indiscriminate use of polybags and given its clearance to the ban.

The governments of both Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir have already enforced restrictions on the use of plastic carry-bags in their states.

The hazards of using polythene bags indiscriminately, including choking of the sewerage system, premature deaths of cows and buffaloes and other health hazards were brought to a city court's notice by a voluntary organisation on November 21. The matter is pending before the court.

In the petition filed on the basis of a Newsline report, it was stated that 60 per cent of stray cows have been dying after consuming polythene bags. The petitioner quoted the findings of the National Seminar on Protection and Preservation of Animals to substantiate the assertion.

It was stated that besides being toxic due to lead and cadmium content, the indigestible bags clogged the animals' intestines and killed them. The cattle ate the polythene as residents used the bags to discard food wastes.

The discarded bags were also making their way to the drains, not only clogging them, but also making them overflow during the rainy season. The toxic gases in dense black smoke, emitted when the polythene bags are burnt, were causing bronchitis, besides leading to eye and skin irritation. These non-degradable polybags, taking thousands of years to decompose, are also affecting soil health.