Our Correspondent / New Delhi

The National Green Tribunal, NGT, has directed the Election Commission, the Centre and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) to convene a meeting to consider whether to ban the use of campaigning material made of plastic during elections.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel directed the Election Commission, Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, MoEF&CC, and CPCB to convene a meeting at the earliest, preferably within one week.

The tribunal passed the directions on a petition seeking a direction to the MoEF&CC and the states to prohibit the use of, synthetic plastic polymer and chlorinated plastic in banners, hoarding for advertising during the poll campaign.

The petition claimed that campaigning material made of plastic are used during the election and later discarded as waste, which is detrimental to the environment.