If you’re still handing out flimsy plastic bags at your shop in Itanagar, consider this your final warning.
The Itanagar Municipal Corporation (IMC) has launched a full-scale crackdown on single-use plastic, putting every shop, hotel, restaurant, street vendor and commercial establishment in the capital on notice. The civic body issued a stern public appeal on August 11, directing all businesses to immediately stop using carry bags thinner than 120 microns — and the list of banned items goes far beyond just the bags.
The Order Didn’t Come Out of Nowhere
This isn’t the IMC acting on impulse. The crackdown has been building for a while. Back on July 14, the District Magistrate of Itanagar Capital Complex had already issued a firm order banning the manufacture, sale, stocking, distribution and use of single-use plastic items across the capital region. The IMC’s August 11 appeal essentially doubles down on that directive, invoking the Centre’s Plastic Waste Management (Amendment) Rules, 2021 and Arunachal Pradesh’s own notification that banned single-use plastic back in July 2022. That’s years of policy on paper — now the corporation wants it enforced on the ground.
What Exactly Is Being Banned?
The scope is wide, and some of it might surprise people. It’s not just the thin carry bags. Banned items include plastic-stemmed ear buds, balloon sticks, plastic flags, candy and ice-cream sticks, thermocol used for decoration, plastic plates, cups, cutlery, straws, trays, wrapping and packing films, and plastic or PVC banners below 100 microns. Sachets and packaging materials used to store or sell goods are also on the list. Businesses are being asked to make the switch to biodegradable or compostable alternatives — immediately, not gradually.
No More Advisory-Only Approach
Here’s where this crackdown feels different from the announcements that came before it. The IMC has warned it will conduct regular inspections, surprise checks and special enforcement drives across all 20 municipal wards in the capital. The order also prohibits anyone from littering or improperly disposing of plastic waste in drains, public roads, parks, markets, water bodies or any public space within IMC jurisdiction. The legal teeth backing this up include the Environment (Protection) Act of 1986, Plastic Waste Management Rules 2016, Arunachal Pradesh Plastic Waste Management Bye-laws 2023, and the AP Municipal Corporation Act 2019. That is a serious stack of law to invoke.
The order was issued by IMC Joint Commissioner Khoda Lasa and has been circulated to the Arunachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board, police authorities, district administration and the state information and public relations department.
Itanagar’s Moment to Get It Right
Plastic bans in India have a complicated history — strong on paper, weak in practice. What sets this apart is the ground-level infrastructure being put in place: ward-by-ward inspections, coordination across departments, and a clear legal framework that gives enforcement agencies real authority to act. The capital now has a genuine opportunity to clean up its streets, protect its waterways and set a standard for the rest of the state. Whether businesses and residents rise to meet it — that part is still being written.
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