Himachal Pradesh High Court issues contempt notice to plastic firms

Legal Correspondent

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Shimla, August 2
Expressing concern over the issue of environmental degradation from plastic waste, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has issued a contempt notice to two private plastic producing companies for not submitting the detail of the waste generated from their product with the HP State Pollution Control Board (HPSPCB).
Passing the directions, a Division Bench comprising Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Justice Sushil Kukreja also expressed concern over the recent tragedy due to a cloudburst in Kullu and the Rampur area and orally asked the Advocate General to take remedial steps to save environment in order to minimise such a tragedy in future.
During the course of hearing a batch of petitions highlighting the issue of non-implementation of the Plastic Waste Management Rules, it was brought to the notice of the court that a meeting of all stakeholders was already scheduled for August 3 in the office of the Director, Urban Development, to resolve the issues of plastic waste.
On this, the court directed the state government to place the minutes of the meeting before it on the next date of hearing and listed the matter August 8.
It is pertinent to mention here that on the previous date of hearing the court had directed all the Producers, importers/brand owners (PIBOs) to submit the detail of the plastic waste generated from their product in the state with Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board (HPSPCB).
Besides, the court had also directed the PIBOs to collaborate with the urban local bodies and gram panchayats through waste management agencies and work out the modalities of effective collection, segregation and processing of plastic waste through registered plastic waste processors in the state.