Copies of the notification which was drafted on December 24 and signed by environment secretary Satish Tripathi were made available today.

``Plastic carry bags have harmful effects on human health and environment, and the state government has received several complaints about the adverse effects of the bags,'' the notification states.

Initiated by the environment department two months ago, the notification cites Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986 to ban the bag. The final date for the implementation of this notification will be decided by the state government when objections and suggestions of the public willbe taken up for consideration on January 23, 1999. It is after this phase of objections that the notification becomes a government regulation (GR).

The notification says that the raw material used for the manufacture of the bags should follow guidelines laid down by the appropriate government departments.

To ensure the correct thickness of the raw material, manufacturers will have to emboss their name and its thickness on the sheets of plastic. The manufacture of plastics and their recycling should follow standards laid down by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) which has prescribed rules on the recycling of plastic.

To check the spurious preparation of plastic, the chemicals and colours used for recycling should be certified by the state department of industries.

Municipal corporations, which will enforce these new rules will keep them in mind while issuing fresh licences to suppliers of these bags. The notification cites the report presented by the two-member committee appointed by the stateEnvironment Minister Chandrakant Khaire. The report, prepared by K H Mehta, member secretary of the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) and MR Shah, former chief engineer of the BMC's Solid Waste Management Cell, was along the lines of the Central government's proposed ban on carry bags.

However, environmentalist Kisan Mehta feels that the state government should have extended the ban to cover bags of 30 microns and less so that it would make better economic sense to ragpickers. ``Besides, this would push the cost up to one rupee a bag, and as with plastic bags handed out by department stores, people are likely to think twice before discarding them.''

Mehta, who has already sent these suggestions to the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) called for a complete ban on the import, manufacture and marketing of thin plastic film, the raw material for the carry bags.

``The thin film should be immediately banned, without which a ban on carry bags doesn't make sense as people can bring the bags fromoutside the state,'' he said.

India is already one of the largest manufacturers of thin plastic carry bags, some as thin as six microns. These bags are exported abroad, and the exports fetch a revenue of Rs 32 crore.

Mehta also suggested a ban on using non-biodegradable materials for one-time use like in drinking cups and food containers.