Plastic bags will be banned in urban areas of Bihar from October 25 and in rural areas from November 25. The court had taken note of a news report in a Hindi daily on June 23 on the pollution in a pond located on the premises of sacred Mahabodhi Temple in Gaya. The Court had asked the state government to make a law for banning the use of plastic bags along with a provision for penalty for its violators. The government had come out with a draft notification in September, for a blanket ban on the manufacture, sale and use of plastic after seeking objections and suggestions from people, various organisations, institutions and stakeholders.