Seize buses entering Nilgiris if a single passenger violates plastic ban, says Madras HC
Only stringent actions would prevent the usage of banned products, says special bench
Madras High Court
CHENNAI: The State government should seize all buses, including tourist vehicles, and blacklist their permits if a single passenger or tourist on board is found carrying banned plastic products when entering the Nilgiris, ordered the Madras High Court.
Issuing the direction to the Collector, a special bench of Justices N Sathish Kumar and D Bharatha Chakravarthy said such stringent action must be implemented to control the usage of banned plastic products in the Nilgiris.
The bench pulled up Collector Lakshmi Bhavya Taneeru for placing an affidavit in the last hearing with false information regarding the number of water ATMs functioning in the district. “We are refraining from making any bad remarks in the order regarding the false submission,” it said.
The Collector tendered an apology and also explained the difficulties in maintaining the water ATMs. "Some miscreants are putting bubble gum, stone, and other foreign objects into the coin hole of the ATM, which makes the machine non-functional; even after repairing, the issue is recurring," she submitted.
The district administration is working to upgrade the ATMs with real-time dashboards and UPI scan, she said. "We are finding ways to installing RO water plants…a pilot project was proposed to install the plant at two places to test the performance, it would be more effective than the water ATM."
Noting how checking all vehicles entering the district was impossible and would lead to huge traffic congestion and chaos, the Collector said the administration has planned to impose Rs 10,000 fine on vehicle operators if any passenger is found with a plastic bottle. If the violation is repeated, the operator permit and vehicle will be seized.
“We also proposed to change the permit condition that all buses should be installed with dustbins in which the plastic bottles used by passengers will be collected to avoid littering the district,” she said.
Special government pleader Srinivasan submitted that the district administration deployed volunteers from self-help organisations at all entry points to check whether any vehicles carried banned plastic products and collect fines. As of now, 1,973.75 kg of banned plastics were collected by the volunteers, and efforts are on to strengthen the enforcement mechanism, he added.
The matter was adjourned for further proceedings.
