Demolition Drive in Raipur

of a sizeable quantity of plastics in the agricultural sector. The irrigation potential cannot be fully utilised because of the lack of and poor state of field channels. Due to this, about 43 million hectares of land gets degraded through water-logging, alkalinity, etc. If canals and field channels are lined with plastic films, this degraded land can be recovered. Consumption of plastic films for canal lining was 2,000 tonnes in 1985-86. This is projected to go up to 18,000 tonnes in 1989-90. About 120 lakh pumps are in use and it is claimed that use of plastic pipes for transporting water will reduce energy consumption by 15-20 per cent. Use of plastic film and pipes in agriculture is at present highly circumscribed because of high prices. At the present level of prices these items are beyond the reach of the Indian peasant. The study recommends that levies and taxes on raw materials to the plastics industry and on the product be reduced in order to encourage the use of plastics in Indian agriculture.