In their efforts to curb the use of plastic across the state, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) faces new challenges almost every month. The Board's Navi Mumbai team has found out that shopkeepers of Thane district are now getting plastic bags at much cheaper rates from areas in Gujarat. The MPCB has alerted the Thane Municipal Corporation (TMC), traffic police and its area officials about the new development and has asked them to take action against the trucks carrying these bags the moment they enter Maharashtra.

According to MPCB sources, over the past two months they have collected around 100 tonnes of plastic and taken action against more than 15,000 shopkeepers and hawkers. Early last month when the officials seized a huge quantity of plastic bags from the APMC market area, they checked where those were manufactured and found it to be Bhiwandi.