Uttarakhand grimly states at the prospect of closure of hundreds of Industrial units in the midst of Extended Producer Responsibility : Anoop Nautiyal
As Uttarakhand grimly stares at the prospect of closure of hundreds of industrial units in the midst of the raging Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) issue for the implementation of the Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016 and its subsequent amendments; it is crucial for all to get 100% clarity in the public domain on numbers/units/type of units/ regions/districts that are impacted and immediately/jointly try and seek solution out of this impasse.
According to the founder of SDC n renowned social activist Anoop Nautical it is estimated that there are approximately 5,000 to 6,000 units across Uttarakhand that are impacted by this development. This number needs to be reconfirmed by different authorities and the various industry bodies themselves. The UEPPCB order dated Dec 2, 2022 that has impacted the “Consent to Operate” due to lack of submission of the “Action Plan for EPR” mentions that 75 units have registered in Uttarakhand and another 1654 have registered on the CPCB portal. According to Nautical of these 1729 units (75+ 1654), only 5 companies have submitted their Action Plans, Thus, there are 1724 units that are registered but not submitted Action Plans.
Expressing his serious concern Vinod Nautical added if a total of 6,000 units are impacted across Uttarakhand and only 1729 have registered, it means the first priority is for the balance 4,300 units (6,000-1729) to immediately undertake EPR registration. They will also need to prepare and submit their EPR Action Plans. Since the EPR registration process is technical and many units (particularly the smaller ones) will need handholding and support to complete EPR registration formalities said Nautiyal. He further said : It is thus extremely important for the state government to do hand holding and capacity building of units. For instance, video lessons may be recorded immediately in Hindi language and shared with all industrial units on what is EPR and how to register for EPR. This initiative can also be shared with Hon’ble High Court as a constructive efforts of the state authorities and some more time may be sought on the basis of this outreach effort added Nautiyal. Giving details Nautiyal said the nationwide registration for EPR as of 9.36 AM on Dec 9, 2022 on the CPCB site is as follows:
a) PIBO (Producer, Importer, Brand Owner) Registration for EPR
Registered Brand Owner 965
Registered Producer 1340
Registered Importer 1756
Total = 4061
b) PWP (Plastic Waste Processors) Registration for EPR
Registered PWP 1428
Total = 1428 Urging various stake holders to unify and come on one platform Nautiyal concluded saying : this is an extremely crucial and sensitive period for Uttarakhand. It is urgent and important that all stakeholders and various agencies of the Uttarakhand government, all industry bodies, all industrial (producer/brand owners/importers) units, all recyclers and all other stakeholders come on one common platform immediately.
While summarising he said , while all industrial units immediately need to comply with the EPR regulation; they need help and support. Closure of approx 5000 to 6000 units will be grave and have wide ranging consequences for the state he added.
If needed, my colleagues and I are always available to extend support to the different stakeholders to handle this critical situation in the best possible manner said Nautiyal.
