A NEWS report on Wednesday raised the question as to why the ‘Mandatory Jute Packaging Act-2010 that made the use of jute bags in packing food stuff and farm produces a must can’t be enforced so far after five years of its passage. The law was passed to help jute millers and growers to sustain their cost and protect environment at the same time. But pressure from plastic industry lobbies, which are producing synthetic bags and marketing at lower costs is defeating the case for jute bags.
We know Textiles and Jute Ministry formulated the law and it clearly spelled out that all traders and government organizations must use jute bags for packing. It must be used in packing paddy, pulses, wheat, fertilizer, sugar etc. But it appears that traders, shop owners, market players and government officials alike have ignored the purpose of the law and did not put any credible effort to use jute bags to replace polythene bags from the country’s marketing chain. As we see there is hardly any jute bag now in use in the market while producers of polythene bags and its marketing agents are carrying out push sales to shoppers’ doors defeating the government and non-government organizations efforts to make jute bags popular and thereby protect the environment. The fact is that Jute bags are easily soluble to water and soil but polythene and such other synthetic bags remain a permanent hazard to soil and water. On the other hand, plastic bags are much cheaper and not bulky to carry in hand. This is one of the reasons for plastic bags outmaneuvering the government ban to make jute bags popular.
We appreciate the government move to raise the question but the idea that a solution could be found only after the political crisis is over by fielding mobile courts seem to be far from reality. Government estimates suggest that 60 crore jute bags may be needed in the current fiscal 2014-15. This is a fairy tale like thinking without any workable plan to put jute bags to market replacing the plastic bags. It needs long-term plans and effective steps to produce bags at low cost and make the marketing a success. A law is not enough. We believe that the government should put in place more inclusive programme for marketing jute bags and on its part, in the first place, must abandon the practice of using plastic bags for packing of fertilizer, sugar and such items. A big part of the government behaviour itself look like a hypocracy and we must say government organizations must come out first to start with serious marketing drive for jute bags, besides using it in their own business outlets.
