The Supreme Court has admitted an appeal by Canara Plastic Manufacturers’ and Traders’ Association (CPMTA) against the order of the National Green Tribunal, Southern Region, Chennai, that had upheld a ban on manufacture, supply, sale and use of plastic material imposed by the State government.
A Division Bench comprising Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta ordered the appeal to be clubbed with another civil appeal on the same subject filed by Karnataka State Plastic Association after condoning the delay in filing the appeal by CPMTA. The court has already ordered issue of notices to the State government and others in the first case.
Association president B.A. Nazeer in a release here said that the appeal was against the order of the NGT which had dismissed the plea by the manufacturers against the ban imposed by the State government through a notification on March 11, 2016. Though the tribunal had dismissed the application challenging the ban, it gave liberty to the Union government to amend the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, curtailing the powers of State governments to impose total ban on plastic material.
SC ignored argument?
The association argued before the Supreme Court stating that the tribunal had not considered its argument that the State government’s act of imposing a blanket ban on plastic material was irrational. There was no environment impact assessment of probable consequences of the removal of plastic carry bags with alternatives before the blanket ban was imposed, it said.
It also pointed out that the notification issued under Section 5 of the Environment (Protection) Act, did not empower the State government to make the rule imposing the ban on manufacture, supply, sale and use of plastic carry bags, banners, buntings, flex, flags, plates, cups, spoons, cling films and sheets.
The association said that the State government cannot go beyond the Central rule — Plastic Waste (Management and Handling) Rules 2011 — that bans manufacture of plastic items of less than 50 microns and impose a blanket ban.
