Kerala High Court lifts ban on use and distribution of non-woven plastic bags above 60GSM

The Kerala High Court on Tuesday lifted the ban imposed by the State government on the manufacture, transportation, use, and sale of non-woven plastic bags of 60 grams per square meter (GSM) and above [M/s Go Green Bags v The Union of India]..Justice N Nagaresh said that the Government Orders that included non-woven bags above 60 GSM in the list of banned single-use plastic items are highly illegal and arbitrary."I find that inclusion of non-woven bags 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 is highly illegal and arbitrary," the Court said. .It noted that the Central government had amended the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 providing that non-woven plastic carry bags shall not be less than 60 GSM with from September 30, 2021.Therefore, the Court held that the petitioners are legally entitled to manufacture and sell non-woven plastic carry bags of 60 GSM and above and the ban imposed on the manufacture of non-woven bags violates their fundamental rights under Articles 19 and 21..Therefore, the Court set aside the Government orders dated November 27, 2019, and December 17, 2019, as well as the circular dated January 27, 2022, of the Kerala State Pollution Control, to the extent that they ban the manufacture, transportation, sale, and use of non-woven bags of 60 GSM and above..The Court was considering two petitions, one filed by a proprietor engaged in the production of non-woven bags and the second plea by members of the registered association of the manufacturers of non-woven bags in Kerala.The petitioners contended that they are manufacturing non-woven bags out of Polypropylene and Calcium Carbonate which is 100% biodegradable under natural process..The petitioners submitted that the Government of India, in the exercise of its powers under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986, has formulated the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016.These Rules provide that non-woven plastic carry bags shall not be less than 60 GSM and that the manufacture, import, stocking, distribution, sale, and use of single-use plastic including polystyrene and expanded polystyrene commodities shall be prohibited with effect from July 1, 2022..The petitioners contended that on the basis of the Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016, many State Pollution Control Boards have prohibited the production, stocking, distribution, sale, and use of single -use plastic items, and non-woven carry bags of less than 60 GSM alone are prohibited..However, the Kerala State Pollution Board issued a letter dated June 24, 2022, prohibiting single-use plastic and also all non-woven plastic bags without mentioning the GSM, the petitioners submitted.This prompted the petitioners to approach the court arguing that since there are inconsistencies between the Central Rules and State Regulations, as per Article 254(1) of the Constitution, the Central Rules shall prevail..The arguments of the petitioners found favour with the court which also opined that when various State governments have permitted the manufacture and sale of non-woven bags of 60 GSM and above, the industries in Kerala alone cannot be subjected to discrimination in the matter.Therefore, it set aside the relevant Government Orders and Circulars..The petitioners were represented by advocates TK Rajeshkumar, Manoj V George, TN Bindu, Aparna Somarajan, Aswin KR, Mathew Benny, Keerthana V, and Thushara Paily.The respondents were represented by Deputy Solicitor General of India S Manu, and advocates T Naveen, N Manoj Kumar, and PG Pramod..[Read Judgment]