Madras High Court Bans Manufacture & Sale Of 28 Plastic Items Throughout Western Ghats, Sanctuaries & Tiger Reserves
The Madras High Court passed further Interim Orders in a batch of Writ Petitions filed by G. Subramania Koushik and others.
The Madras High Court has banned the manufacture, storage, supply, transport, sale, and distribution of the 28 plastic items throughout the Western Ghats, Sanctuaries, and Tiger Reserves.
The Court passed further Interim Orders in a batch of Writ Petitions filed by G. Subramania Koushik and others.
A Division Bench comprising Justice N. Sathish Kumar and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy directed, “The manufacture, storage, supply, transport, sale, and distribution of the 28 items mentioned in paragraph No.9 above 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 banned the below mentioned 28 plastic items –
(1) Plastic pet bottles for packaged drinking water, mineral water, juices, etc, (one time use) (2) Plastic sheet / cling film used for food wrapping (3) Plastic sheet used for spreading on dining table (4) Plastic Thermocol plates (5) Plastic coated paper plates (6) Plastic coated paper cups (7) Plastic tea cups (8) Plastic tumbler (9) Thermocol cups (10) Plastic coated carry bags (11) Non-woven Carry Bags (12) Water pouches / packets (13) Plastic straw (14) Plastic flags (15) Ear buds with plastic sticks (16) Plastic carry bags of all size & thickness (17) Candy with plastic sticks (18) Ice-cream with plastic sticks (19) Polystyrene for decoration (20) Cutlery such as plastic forks (21) Plastic spoons (22) Plastic knives (23) Wrapping or packaging films around sweet boxes (24) Wrapping or packaging films around invitation cards (25) Wrapping or packaging films around cigarette packets (26) Plastic or PVC banners less than 100 micron (27) Plastic stirrers (28) Plastic trays
Advocate T.V. Suresh Kumar represented the Petitioners while Spl. GP T. Seenivasan and Senior Advocate T. Mohan represented the Respondents.
Background
The Madras High Court has been issuing directions for a ban on PET (Polyethylene terephthalate) bottles and other plastic waste in the Nilgiris and Kodaikanal hills, and this has been continuously monitored. Ever since the ban, it has been a common feature that whenever the District Collectors and the authorities increased their vigil, there was a decline in the plastic waste generated and however, the usage increases. Single use PET bottles for water, juices, and soft drinks are strewn everywhere throughout the Western Ghats starting from the Nilgiris town, upto the Agasthyar Biosphere in Kanyakumari District.
It is omnipresent in water resources, lakes, and streams. In addition to PET bottles, polythene bags, plastic/thermocol plates, plastic-coated paper plates, paper cups, plastic tumblers, spoons, knives, and similar items littered throughout the hills, posing a grave threat to the environment and local flora and fauna. Managing this solid waste becomes a Herculean task and after unknowingly consuming these plastics, animals die. The forests are facing extinction and the pristine eco system is encountering a major challenge. In these circumstances, the High Court had called for further suggestions from the Government, the counsel representing the parties, and the Amicus Curiae. The Amicus Curiae submitted a memo recommending effective enforcement of the ban on plastic products, thereby contributing to the preservation of the Western Ghats. The District Collectors also proposed certain measures.
Court’s Observations
The High Court in the above regard, said, “… there is a lack of clear understanding on the part of tourists, the general public, traders, etc., regarding the ban on these items, leading to confusion in the strict implementation of the Government Order in G.O.(Ms) No.84, along with the ban imposed by this court.”
The Court, therefore, reiterated and held that the said 28 plastic items shall stand banned for manufacture, use, sale, and transport throughout the Western Ghats in general, and in particular the Nilgiris and Kodaikanal hills.
“This Court hereby declares the ban on the manufacture, storage, supply, transport, sale, or distribution of the above items throughout the Western Ghats starting from the Nilgiris upto the Agathiyar Biosphere in Kanyakumari District, which includes the Nilgiris and Kodaikanal hill areas”, it added.
The Court further noted that when tourists travel in their own private vehicles and enter, checks are conducted periodically, and passengers or other individuals pay fines if they are found with banned items. It said that unfortunately, the vehicle operators, owners, drivers, conductors, and those in charge of the buses and other vehicles have shown no interest in checking their vehicles or informing passengers to dispose of all prohibited plastic items before the entry point.
“On the contrary, they encourage and assist in smuggling a large quantity of these banned products, which are hidden in many of the vehicles and buses. Therefore, unless responsibility is assigned to these vehicles transporting prohibited items, achieving the goal will be impossible”, it also remarked.
The Court, therefore, directed the State Government to issue a notification under Section 67 (3) of the Motor Vehicles Act, adding a permit condition and framing a special scheme that prohibits any motor vehicle from transporting the 28 banned items by any means into the Western Ghats as their destination, more particularly the Nilgiris and the Kodaikanal Hills.
“Once the notification is issued, if any of the banned items are found during inspection, the vehicle must be immediately seized and further proceedings initiated for permit cancellation as well as the investigation of the offence”, it ordered.
Court’s Directions
The Court, therefore, issued the following directions –
• The Government of Tamil Nadu shall issue a notification under Section 67 (3) of the Motor Vehicles Act, adding a condition to the permit/special scheme that mandates no vehicle shall be used for the transport or distribution of banned items along the Western Ghats and Sanctuaries, which include the Nilgiris and Kodaikanal hill areas;
• Vehicles found transporting such items shall be detained, and further action, including the detention of the vehicle and prosecution- shall be taken;
• Shop owners, vendors, or any other persons involved in the distribution of snack items, 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 packaging and transfer the contents to biodegradable paper covers, such as butter paper, that do not contain plastic or materials that take a long time to degrade;
• The local bodies shall provide disposable paper covers for their use 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 District Collectors, along with local authorities, shall identify the manufacturers of these products, conduct meetings with them, and develop schemes for returning these packaging materials to the manufacturers for safe disposal;
• These plastic and other non-biodegradable packing materials shall be disposed of following the Solid Waste Management Rules and Plastic Waste Management Rules outlined above;
• A scheme shall be developed involving the manufacturers, which will include funding for local authorities to cover expenses incurred with them. The scheme will also address the collection and transport of sachets and other packaging materials back to the manufacturer for safe disposal;
• The respondents, including District Collectors and local bodies, shall take all necessary steps to ensure the availability of drinking water through ATMs, R.O. plants, and other methods;
• A Deposit Return System will be implemented, providing reusable cups, tumblers, steel bottles, food containers, and tiffin carriers of various sizes to tourists and the general public upon payment of a small deposit of Rs. 20/-or Rs. 50/-;
• Innovative approaches, such as developing a Tourist Bag Kit made from cloth as an extension of the Tamil Nadu Government's 'Meendum Manjappai scheme', can be introduced;
• A special mobile application or website can be created with the involvement of the local community and business people, which would guide users to the availability of water ATMs, drinking water points, tourist bag kits, deposit return counters, electric charging points, in addition to regular tourist points, etc.;
• All authorities concerned should continue creating awareness by establishing vantage points at least every 2 kilometers at all entry points, specifically at five or six locations before entering the Nilgiris and Kodaikanal hills, as well as other entry points of the Western Ghats and the Sanctuaries;
• Entry checks shall be mandatory at all vantage points without exception at all times;
• A Vendor Responsibility Scheme shall be introduced, whereby vendors will raise awareness by instructing, assisting, and encouraging their customers not to litter, and by providing bins for their use;
• The solid waste collected shall be disposed of safely and in a planned manner by properly collecting, crushing, and supplying these wastes to the appropriate agencies for recycling.
Accordingly, the High Court directed the Respondents to comply with the respective directions and listed the case on June 6, 2025.
Cause Title- G. Subramania Koushik v. The Principal Secretary to Government of Tamil Nadu & Ors. (Case Number: W.M.P.No.15112 of 2019)
Appearance:
Petitioners: Advocate T.V. Suresh Kumar
Respondents: Spl. GP T. Seenivasan, SC R. Srinivas, SPC V. Chandrasekaran, Senior Advocate T. Mohan, Amicus Curiae M. Santhanaraman, C. Mohan, Rahul Balaji, Advocates A. Sri Jeyanthi, and K. Madhan.
