Madras High Court bans 28 plastic products across Western Ghats in T.N.; orders vehicle impounding

The Madras High Court has banned the manufacture, storage, provide, transport, sale, and distribution of 28 plastic products across the Western Ghats — from the Nilgiris to Agasthiyar Biosphere in Kanniyakumari district — and made it clear that the ban would apply to all hill stations, sanctuaries, and tiger reserves as effectively.

A particular Division Bench of Justices N. Sathish Kumar and D. Bharatha Chakravarthy ordered that fines be imposed on vacationers who clandestinely carry the banned products to the hill stations. The courtroom additionally directed authorities to impound the motor automobiles that transport such banned products, moreover cancelling the permits granted to them.

The banned products embrace single-use plastic bottles used for consuming water/juices, plastic sheets/cling movie used for meals wrapping, plastic sheets used for spreading on eating tables, plastic plates, plastic-coated paper plates, plastic-coated paper cups, plastic teacups, plastic tumblers, and thermocol cups.

Plastic coated carry luggage, non-woven carry luggage, water pouches/packets, plastic straws, plastic flags, ear buds with plastic sticks, plastic carry luggage of all sizes and thicknesses, candies with plastic sticks, ice-cream with plastic sticks, and polystyrene for decorations have been additionally banned by the High Court.

The Division Bench mentioned cutleries equivalent to plastic forks, plastic spoons, plastic knives, wrapping or packaging movies round candy containers, wrapping or packaging movies round invitation playing cards, wrapping or packaging movies round cigarette packets, plastic or PVC banners lower than 100 microns, and plastic stirrers and trays shall even be banned.

Blanket ban

The judges mentioned although the State authorities had imposed a blanket ban on single-use plastics across the State in 2018, they usually had ordered the ban of sure plastics in the Nilgiris and Kodaikanal in 2019, such banned products continued to be smuggled into the Western Ghats by hiding them in buses and different motor automobiles.

Due to this fact, the judges directed the State authorities to invoke its powers underneath the Motor Autos Act and impose a situation in the transport permits, making it clear that these permits would stand cancelled if the automobiles have been discovered to be transporting the banned plastic products, and they might impounded.

In as far as the sale of branded biscuits and snacks offered in non bio-degradable packaging was involved, the judges ordered that the distributors in the hill stations should be instructed to chop open these packets and hand over their contents to the shoppers in covers made from paper or different bio-degradable supplies.

Provision of paper covers

The native our bodies have been directed to supply the paper covers to the distributors freed from price by utilising the Inexperienced Fund. Collectors, native our bodies, and personal firms should collectively come out with a plan for secure disposal of the multi-layered non-biodegradable packaging in the custody of the distributors, the courtroom ordered.

“Not a single plastic wrapper, sachet, or packaging materials may be strewn in the Nilgiris, Kodaikanal hills, and the whole Western Ghats,” the Bench mentioned and highlighted the hurt brought on by such plastic supplies discovered strewn everywhere in the pristine hills and the difficulties confronted in amassing and disposing of such dangerous supplies.

The orders have been handed after listening to the recommendations made by amici curiae T. Mohan, Chevanan Mohan, Rahul Balaji, and M. Santhanaraman.

The Division Bench ordered that consuming water shelling out machines should be made operational in any respect potential places in the hill stations and reusable meals containers, cups, tumblers, cutliers, and metal bottles should be made obtainable to the vacationers by implementing a refundable deposit system via self-help teams.

Cellular app

Vacationers is also supplied with kits containing bio degradable supplies, and a cell app may very well be developed to assist the vacationers simply find the closest water shelling out station or the kiosk the place they might receive/return the reusable containers in addition to the vacationer kits.

They mentioned the distributors in the hill stations should even be inspired to make sure that their clients don’t litter, and that the stable waste managerment guidelines have been adopted in letter and spirit. The judges determined to go additional orders in the case on June 6, 2025, after taking inventory of the steps taken by the authorities by then.