Madras High Court premises to become plastic-free zone from November 10

The Madras High Court campus will become a 'plastic-free zone' from November 10 onwards, the Tamil Nadu government informed the High Court on Wednesday.

Next week, Acting Chief Justice T Raja will inaugurate vending machines at five spots on the high court campus, which will dispense the traditional 'manjappai' or the yellow cloth bag that can be used to carry stuff.

The Acting Chief Justice will also commission a plastic bottle crushing unit, Additional Advocate General J Ravindran said.

Ravindran made the submissions on Wednesday before a specially designated bench of Justices N Sathish Kumar and D Bharatha Chakravarthy hearing matters relating to preservation of wildlife and ecology.

The decision to make the High Court premises 100 percent plastic free came after a series of orders was passed earlier this year by a bench of Justices S Vaidyanathan and PT Asha, which had been hearing a case pertaining to the ban on single-use plastics imposed by the Tamil Nadu government in 2019.

Since such ban was imposed by the State government, Chief Minster MK Stalin has been encouraging citizens to begin using the manjappai instead of single-use plastic bags.

The manjappai was traditionally used by residents of Tamil Nadu, especially by those living in the rural areas, for shopping, and carrying books, cash, gold, and other valuables and is associated with good fortune.

On Wednesday, AAG Ravindran told the Court that following the previous orders, he had discussed the issue with the State Environment Secretary Supriya Sahu, and the government authorities have decided to make the High Court premises a designated plastic free zone from November 10.