SHILLONG, March 11: The High Court of Meghalaya has called for a comprehensive report on the efforts being taken by the state government to ensure a ban on single use plastic less than 120 microns.
Earlier, a petition was filed in the court with a prayer to consider imposing a total ban on plastic in the state.
During a hearing on Tuesday, Additional Advocate General T Yangi B placed before the court a report of Block Development Officers of diverse administrative blocks, showing the action taken by the government in furtherance of the court’s earlier order.
A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Indra Prasanna Mukerji and Justice Wanlura Diengdoh, however, observed that the report lacked specific details.
“By our order made on 21st November, 2024, we inter alia, directed the administration to ban the manufacture, marketing and use of plastic less than 120 microns in width and seize those materials wherever they were being used, by making inspection of public places. We also directed the administration to take measures for proper management of plastic waste,” the court said in an order.
Referring to the report placed by the Additional Advocate General, the court said, “The reports are short, containing broadly the action taken. We find that awareness camps have been held and meetings have taken place there with stakeholders. Awareness was sought to be reached to school students.”
The court also said that preventive measures like inspection drives, promotion of alternatives to plastic like cloth bags, jute bags and paper packaging were made. Plastic waste was collected and people persuaded to discard single use plastic. The ban on plastics items less than 120 microns was “successfully initiated” according to the Block Development Officer, Mawkynrew C&RD Block, the court said.
The court also said that more details of the action taken by the administration are required, adding that when it is reporting conduct of awareness programmes, the date, location, time taken and the stakeholders involved in such awareness are necessary.
“With regard to preventive measures, where, when and in what manner inspection was carried out, what was the result of such inspection are needed. The details of the plastic collection drives like the weight or number of plastic items seized or plastic waste collected and the place from which they were collected and when should form part of the report,” the court stated.
It further said that the action taken against the users of plastic less than 120 micron is also necessary, together with detailed information about the elimination drive against single use plastic.
“We are satisfied with the action taken so far by the government but we do treat this as only a beginning of the journey. It should continue to scrupulously implement our order dated 21st November, 2024 read with earlier order dated 16th August, 2024,” the court ordered.
The next hearing has been fixed on May 14, 2025.
