Indian Railways to fine you Rs 25000 for using plastic on its premises; here are details

The Indian Railways is awaiting Maharashtra Environment Ministry's approval to penalise passengers who use plastic on its premises. Even though the Central Railway (CR) has requested that it be allowed to penalise wrongdoers more than 15 days ago, it has not yet received any response yet. The Maharashtra government too banned plastic use across the state on June 23.

The government, however, had relaxed the ban and allowed small retailers to use plastic bags for packaging for the next three months. The relaxation is reportedly applicable only for plastic bags above 50 microns. The Central Railway has prescribed Rs 5,000 fine for the first-time offenders and Rs 10,000 for the second-time offenders and Rs 25,000 for the third-time offenders, and a three-month imprisonment.

The Railways authorities reportedly had sought to know the list of banned plastic items and guidelines about implementing the ban. According to the report, Western Railway is waiting for the government's approval to implement the ban on its premises. The Railway division has reportedly already taken up measures to discourage passengers from using plastic on its premises. It has also instructed stall owners to avoid such products.