Chennai: The Madras High Court has banned 28 kinds of plastic items, which includes pet bottles, throughout the Western Ghats.
A division bench comprising Justices N Sathish Kumar and D Bharatha Chackravarthy passed further interim orders recently on a batch of petitions from G Subramania Koushik and others.
The bench directed the Tamil Nadu government to issue a notification under the Motor Vehicles Act stipulating a condition that no vehicle shall be used for the transportation/distribution of banned items in the Western Ghats, which includes the Nilgiris and Kodaikanal. Vehicles that violate this norm shall be detained, and further action shall be taken.
The bench said shop owners or any other person involved in the distribution food-consumables packed in non-biodegradable materials including plastic foils/wrappers shall transfer the contents to biodegradable materials.
Local bodies shall provide paper covers at no cost, and such costs can be reimbursed from the Green Funds. Authorities may supply all types of biodegradable materials, including those made from leaves, etc.
The bench said authorities including district collectors and local bodies, shall take all necessary steps to ensure the availability of drinking water through “ATMs, RO plants, and other methods.” The court directed the authorities to comply with the directions and ensure that a status report is filed on June 6, 2025.
