Moved by cases in which as much as 50 kgs of plastic waste was found in the stomachs of cows, the Supreme Court (SC) has decided to strictly enforce the ban on use of poly bags. The court also came down heavily on states for their indifference to the agony of such bovines.
The court constituted a team of lawyers to visit Rajasthan and submit a report within one month on the status of implementation of the ban on plastic, in force since July 21, 2010. Karnataka was the next in line as the Bench, headed by Chief Justice Hl Dattu directed the Principal Secretary of the State to be present in court on the next date of hearing. The State had constituted an Advisory Committee on Plastic Waste Management in August 2011, but the committee has not met for the last two years.
Incensed by the lack of seriousness shown by the states in regard to the issue flagged up by NGO Karuna Society for Animals and Nature, the Bench, also comprising Justices Madan lokur and AK Sikri said: “Over 50 kgs of plastic has been found in the stomach of a cow. Imagine the pain these animals go through. And you (States) sit in air-conditioned rooms saying that we have a legislation. It’s sickening to see the photos. Chief Secretaries should be asked to hang these photos in their drawing rooms.”
The petitioner NGO represented by senior advocate Shyam Divan shared details from a series of rumenotomies conducted randomly on cows chosen from different cities. Rumenotomy is a surgical operation which involves removing waste and foreign particles from a cow’s stomach by cutting open the rumen (part of stomach) and stitching it back.
Rumenotomy on one cow yielded 52 kgs of plastic waste while 40 to 48 kgs of plastic was extracted from other cows operated upon.“In a case like this we should react. There are rules and regulations, but the question is, are they being implemented,” the Bench said. Rajasthan counsel informed the court that there is full implementation of plastic ban. The court asked advocate Bina Madhavan to take assistance of two other lawyers - Menaka Guruswamy and DB Raghuvanshi and visit cities in the State to test this claim. It directed the State to bear all expenses of their travel, stay and transportation. The committee of lawyers will file its report to the court in one month.
The court noted that states of Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Gujarat and Goa were yet to file their response to the PIl. Giving them a last opportunity of two weeks, the Bench warned that the Chief Secretary of the State concerned shall remain present in court if no response is filed within this time.