Plastic Ban : Kerala High Court Lifts Ban On Non-Woven Bags Of 60 GSM & Above

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday held that the inclusion of non-woven bags of 60GSM and above in the list of banned single use plastic items by Government Orders without regard to the GSM standards, and in violation of the provisions of the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 as arbitrary and illegal. Justice N. Nagaresh, passed the order in two writ petitions filed before it challenging the ban on the non-woven bags brought into effect by virtue of certain Government Orders by the State of Kerala and the Kerala State Pollution Control Board. The Court in this case noted that while Section 23 of the Environment Protection Act, 1986 provided that the Central Government is competent to delegate its powers and functions under the Act, 1986, the rule making power of the Central Government cannot be delegated. "When, in exercise of the rule making powers under Section 25, the Central Government has prescribed minimum standard in GSM for manufacturing of non-woven bags, then under any delegated power the State Government cannot prescribe a different standard which would negate the rules framed by the Central Government. If any State Government issues executive instructions contrary to the Rules framed by the Central Government, it would amount to exercise of powers which the Act, 1986 has prohibited to delegate", it observed in this regard. The Court further noted that while several States such as Odisha, Puducherry, Haryana, Delhi, and so on, had issued orders banning single use plastic, such ban would not extend to non-woven bags of 60 GSM and above."Therefore, the total prohibition of manufacturing of nonwoven bags irrespective of the GSM standard of the bags in Kerala, would be discriminatory also", it observed. The CaseThe petitioners in the first writ petition, namely W.P.(C) No.23089/2022 are members of registered association of the manufacturers of non-woven bags in Kerala, while the petitioner in the second writ petition is a Proprietor engaged in the production of non-woven bags. They were aggrieved by two Government Orders dated December 17, 2019, and January 27, 2020, whereby non-woven bags had been included in the list of 'prohibited items' by the Government. It is the petitioner's case that non-woven bags are manufactured using food grade granules, and it in itself, is a food grade item approved by many Government agencies and recognized by the Ministry of Textiles. They averred that they were involved in manufacturing non-woven bags out of Polypropylene which is a food grain granule, and Calcium Carbonate, which is a natural product and is completely bio-degradable under natural process. The petitioners pointed out that as per the amendment by the Central Government to the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, it has been stipulated that non-woven plastic carry bags shall not be less than 60 gram per square metre (GSM) with effect from 30.09.2021, and the petitioners could accordingly, manufacture and sell non-woven plastic carry bags of 60 GSM and above. It further directed that the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale and use of single use plastic including polystyrene and expanded polystyrene commodity shall be prohibited with effect from July 1, 2022. On the basis of this notification, several State Pollution Control Boards had prohibited production, stocking, distribution, sale and use of single use plastic items but, permitted manufacturing of carry bags made of virgin or recyclable plastic above 75 micron in thickness, and non-woven carry bags less than 60 GSM. However, the petitioners averred that the State of Kerala issued a letter dated June 24, 2022, banning single use plastic products, including non-woven bags, and thereby had banned all such bags without any distinction. It was contended by the petitioners that the Sub Committee of Single Window Clearance Board had granted sanction to manufacture of non-woven carry bags to M/S.K.V. Green Bags in Pathanamthitta District, and the petitioners therefore had a legitimate expectation that the same would be extended to all. Additionally, a report of School for Advanced Research in Polymers (SARP), Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals under the Government of India had also opined that Polypropylene fibre of 60 GSM can be used multiple times and is recyclable at the end of their use. It was further contended by the petitioners that the State Rules were already in place when the Central Government made the 60 GSM rule. It was submitted that the Environmental Protection Act (Act, 1986) provides that the State Government has only residuary powers in this regard, although the Central Government is vested with the power of delegation. It was pointed out that the statute as such only contemplates regulation and not a complete ban. It was additionally argued that the complete ban of non-woven bags violates the fundamental right of the petitioners under Articles 19 and 21 of the Constitution. The 3rd respondent...

Plastic Ban : Kerala High Court Lifts Ban On Non-Woven Bags Of 60 GSM & Above

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