CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has imposed a blanket ban on 28 plastic items, including PET bottles, cups, tumblers, plates, carry bags and plastic films used for food wrapping in the Western Ghats ranging from the Nilgiris to the Agathiyar Biosphere in the Kanniyakumari district.
The ban comes as a lasting measure to protect the environment and ecology of the pristine Western Ghats.
A special division Bench of justices N Sathish Kumar and D Bharatha Chakravarthy passed the orders recently on the petitions seeking to ban the plastic bottles and other such products that harm the environment in the Nilgiris.
“The manufacture, storage, supply, transport, sale, and distribution of the 28 items are banned throughout the Western Ghats, sanctuaries, and tiger reserves, starting from the Nilgiris up to the Agathiyar Biosphere in Kanyakumari District, which includes the Nilgiris and Kodaikanal hill areas,” the Bench said in the order.
The banned items include plastic pet bottles used for packaged water, mineral water and juice, plastic sheet/cling film used for food wrapping, sheets used for spreading on dining table, plastic thermocol plates, plastic coated paper plates, paper cups, tea cups, tumbler, plastic coated carry bags, non-woven carry bags, water pouches, packets, straw, flags and plastic carry bags of all sizes and thickness and cutlery items made of plastics.
“Upon a complete reading of the 2018 and 2024 GOs on the ban on plastic items, and the earlier orders of this court dated September 25, 2019 and recognising the serious necessity, we reiterate and hold that these items shall stand banned for manufacture, use, sale and transportation,” it said.
The Bench said the shop owners, vendors or any other persons involved in distributing snacks, biscuits or any other consumables packaged in multi-layered wrappers, foils, multi-layered covers, sachets, pouches or other non-biodegradable packaging materials shall cut open the packages and transfer the contents to biodegradable paper covers made of butter paper which do not contain plastic materials.
Alternatively, they may use natural products made of leaves, kora grass and earthen mud, it said.
The Bench directed the local bodies to provide disposable paper cover free of cost to the traders.
It also directed the authorities to ensure supply of potable water through water ATMs and RO plants in public places.
It mooted a ‘deposit return system’ for providing reusable cups, tumblers, food containers, tiffin carriers and ever-silver bottles to the tourists and the general public upon payment of Rs. 20 to Rs. 50 and the amount can be refunded upon returning these items.
Innovative approaches, such as developing a tourist bag kit made of cloth as an extension of TN government’s ‘Meendum Manjappai’ scheme, can be introduced; the kit will have reusable bottles, cloth bags for purchases, cutlery along with saleable eco-friendly straws, napkins and small food storage containers, it said.
Calling upon the authorities concerned to create awareness on the ban of the 28 plastic items and on alternative materials, the Bench said a special mobile application or website can be created with the involvement of the local community.
It asked the authorities to implement the measures in the Nilgiris and Kodaikanal scrupulously and then swiftly expand to encompass all other hill areas in the Ghats, sanctuaries and tiger reserves.
The court noted that senior counsels Chevanan Mohan, T Mohan and advocates M Santhanaraman and Rahul Balaji, assisting the court as amicus curiae, submitted a memo recommending steps for effective enforcement of the ban.
Recollecting the directions issued already for banning PET bottles and other plastic items in the Nilgiris and Kodaikanal, the Bench said the usage of PET bottles and plastic wastes generated are increasing day by day.
The Bench also said that the plastic waste is strewn everywhere throughout the Ghats, posing a grave threat the environment, and the local flora and fauna.