The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to grant more time to the Centre for implementing a law to regulate the use of plastic for packaging gutka pan masala and chewing tobacco pouches.
The government has only two days to notify the law prohibiting use of plastic for gutka, and other tobacco products.
Infuriated at the laxity of the government in enacting the legislation, the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday refused to grant more time to the Centre for implementing a law to regulate the use of plastic for packaging gutka pan masala and chewing tobacco pouches.
It must notify the law within two days, a bench of justices GS Singhvi and AK Ganguli said. “You [the government] would violate the court’s order at your peril,” they said.
In December last, the court had directed the Centre to frame a law within eight weeks which expires on February 4. As government’s counsel sought more time saying the rules had already been framed in September 2009 and only a formal notification after due consultation was required to implement the law, the bench slammed the Centre saying, “How much consultation would you do for notifying the rules? One year and four months have already passed?”
The court wants the government to notify Plastic Management and Disposal Rules framed in 2009.
Various gutka, pan masala and chewing tobacco manufacturing companies have moved the apex court seeking modification of its ruling of banning use of plastic as packaging material by March 1 this year.
According to a rough estimate, the gutka pan masala market in India is pegged at over Rs100 billion.
The counsel of manufacturing companies, Harish Salve, pleaded with the court that the order would affect the business and the shops selling the products would be closed.
“We are caught in the middle as the government has not come out with a law,” counsel said. The court said it would hear their pleas on February 10.
The case is a follow-up to the Rajasthan high court order banning use of plastic sachets.
The high court had also asked the Rajasthan government to get the sachets examined by forensic science laboratory to ascertain the plastic content of the pouches.
It had directed the the manufacturers to comply with the provisions of the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act in force since 2007.
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