A resident of the city filed a petition in the High Court on Wednesday alleging that PET bottles, plastic pouches and tetra packs are causing harm to the environment and also contaminate the food products stored in them.
He contended that such things were facilitating inter-state illegal trading and created social hazards. The petitioner wanted the court to direct the state government to completely exclude the use of such things.
Saidatta, the petitioner, further submitted that some states, taking cognisance of the harmful effects of PET bottles and plastic pouches for storage of liquor and other things, have modified their excise policies.
They have made use of glass bottles for storage of beverages and sale of liquor mandatory, he said.
‘Use beggars cess for their welfare’
The High Court on Wednesday directed the state government to collect beggars cess from BBMP limits and use that money to rehabilitate beggars.
A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice D H Waghela and Justice B V Nagarathna passed the order on a public interest litigation filed by Rashtrotthana Parishat seeking directions to the state government to collect beggars cess and give it to the Beggars’ Rehabilitation Centre at Srigandhada Kaval.
They alleged that the state government and the BBMP were not showing any interest to give the beggars cess to the centre.
They charged that BBMP collected property tax from people and one per cent of that tax was beggars cess. They said that the money should be given for the development of the Beggars Rehabilitation Centre.
They alleged that BBMP had collected Rs 74 crore from 1976 to 2009, but had given only Rs 40 crore and sought directions to the government and BBMP to release the remaining amount.