An eco disaster called Amma Hastam

Hyderabad: Chief minister Kiran Kumar Reddy’s pet scheme ‘Amma Hastam’ for the poor in the state has turned out to be a major environmental hazard. The scheme may aim at providing essential food items to the poor in the state at affordable rates, but at the same time, is also choking the environment with non-biodegradable plastic bags. And environmentalist say it is indeed a big irony when the state government, instead of checking environmental pollution by other agencies, is itself fanning it in a big way.
    Under the scheme, the state government is supplying 9 essential commodities in equal number of polythene bags to 2.15 crore people. And the items, wheat, whole meal atta, red gram, palmolein oil, sugar, salt, chilli powder, tamarind and turmeric powder, are packaged in individual plastic bags.TTD told to switch over to cloth bags 
Hyderabad: Thus at the rate of 9 plastic bags supplied to 2.15 crore people, nearly 20 crore plastic bags are being dumped into the environment every month.
    “Unlike other plastic items which can be recycled, polythene bags cannot be recycled easily as they contain additive chemicals and release poisonous gases if burned and do not decompose when left in garbage form,” said Dr Kalpala Babu Rao, environmental activist and former scientist at Indian Institute of Chemical Technology (IICT).
    According to environmental experts, one possible safe method of disposing of the plastic bags is by burning them in incinerators at temperatures ranging from 1,200 to 1,300 degrees Celsius. “But these incinerators cost about Rs 7 crore each and there are hardly any in the city. So what one sees is the city garbage disposal workers burning the plastic bags and causing major environmental hazard,” said S Surya, an environmental activist. But even if there is a safe method of disposing the plastic bags, there is no proper system of segregation of solid waste, said Dr K Palanivelu, professor at the Central Institute of Plastic Engineering and Technology (CIPET), Chennai. “Plastic bags constitute only 2% of the total plastic usage but due to lack of proper segregation of the solid waste, end up as the most destructive environmental hazard,” he said.
    Officials said the plastic bags used in scheme are of 70 microns, much higher than the prescribed 40 microns of thickness. But that in no way minimizes the environmental hazard, say the experts. In fact, the AP Pollution Control Board has expressed concern over the distribution of plastic bags in such large numbers.
    “Plastic bags used in Amma Hastam may be above the prescribed 40 microns but their distribution in crores every month is definitely a matter of concern,” said I Raghunatha Swami, senior environmental engineer, state pollution board. The PCB is currently trying to convince the Tirumala Tirupati Devesthanams (TTD) to switch over to cloth bags in supplying laddus at Tirumala. Presently, the laddus are supplied in plastic bags. But the question is whether the PCB will take on chief minister’s pet scheme and take steps to check environmental pollution