KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Tuesday quashed the state government order banning the manufacture, transportation, sale and use of non-woven bags of 60 GSM (grams per square metre) and above, terming it highly illegal. Justice N Nagaresh said the inclusion of non-woven bags in the list of banned single-use plastic items by the government’s order was done without considering GSM standards and was in violation of the provisions of Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016. “Hence, it is highly illegal and arbitrary,” the judge said.
The order came on the petitions filed by manufacturers of non-woven bags, challenging the government fiat that included non-woven bags in the list of prohibited items.
The petitioners submitted that non-woven bags were manufactured using food-grade granules. They said the bags were a food-grade item approved by many government agencies and recognised by the Ministry of Textiles. They said they manufacture the non-woven bags out of polypropylene and calcium carbonate. Polypropylene is a food-grade granule and calcium carbonate is a natural product which is 100% biodegradable, they said.
The court noted that many state governments, including Odisha, Puducherry, Haryana and Delhi, had issued orders banning single-use plastic, but such ban did not extend to non-woven bags of 60 GSM and above.
“Therefore, total prohibition of manufacturing non-woven bags irrespective of the GSM standard of the bags in Kerala will be discriminatory too,” the court said.
WELCOMES DECISION
The Malayali non-woven bag manufacturers have welcomed the HC decision. “The HC order will give a boost to the business industry in Kerala,” said Nibu Kasim, president of association.