By IANS,
New Delhi : The Delhi High Court Wednesday asked the state government to respond to an industry forum’s plea for withdrawal of complete ban on plastic carrybags in the capital.
The All India Plastic Industry Association (AIPA) in its petition termed the notification was “unjust” as the court last year asked the government only to increase the minimum permissible thickness of plastic bags from 20 microns to 40 microns – to make it more
costly and discourage indiscriminate use – and not completely ban it.
A division bench headed by Justice Madan B. Lokur asked the Delhi government to file its response to the petition by March 19.
The court last year accepted the recommendations of the Justice Chopra Committee for steps to discourage indiscriminate use of plastic bags, but the Delhi government imposed complete ban on the carrybags.
The panel comprising Delhi Pollution Control Board chairman J.K. Dadoo, Central Pollution Control Board chairman J.M. Mauskar and retired Judge R.C. Chopra had also sought a ban on small plastic pouches and getting plastic manufacturers to set up state-of-the-art recycling units.