Uttarakhand: Questions raised on Excise Department’s hologram tender, social worker accused of irregularities

Congress leader and social activist Abhinav Thapar held a press conference on the birth anniversary of environmentalist and Padma Vibhushan awardee late Sunderlal Bahuguna. Meanwhile, raising questions on the hologram tender of the Excise Department, he said that irregularities have been committed in the tender of 150 crore holograms (labels) of banned single use plastic by the Excise Department. At the same time, he has said that it is contrary to the Central Government’s policy of restrictive single-use plastic ban and the guidelines issued by the Prime Minister’s Office and the National Green Tribunal (SUP), New Delhi.

The Excise Department had floated the tender on 20 November 2023

Social activist Abhinav Thapar said that the Excise Department of Uttarakhand had floated the tender for holograms to be installed in liquor bottles in Uttarakhand on 20 November 2023. In which the Excise Department had placed the main demand of 36 micron hologram containing plastic, but according to the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of the Central Government, single use plastic less than 100 microns is completely banned.

Social worker raised demand to cancel the tender

According to Thapar, he has sent a letter to the Chief Minister, Excise Department and Uttarakhand Pollution Board as well as PM Modi in this matter and informed about the loss caused by this. He has also requested to cancel this tender. He said that after the release of this tender, 150 crore plastic levels in Uttarakhand’s rivers like Ganga, Yamuna and forests etc. will dissolve like poison in the environment. In such a situation, he has raised the demand of the government to immediately cancel the tender and conduct an investigation.