Gujarat High Court has issued a stern warning over the strict enforcement of plastic waste rules, following a public interest litigation filed by Advocate Amit Panchal on the issue of making Girnar and Bet Dwarka plastic and waste-free.

The bench of Chief Justice Sunita Agarwal, and Justice Pranav Trivedi directed the Gujarat Pollution Control Board (GPCB) to submit a detailed report on the implementation of plastic waste disposal, construction material recovery facilities, and compliance with plastic waste rules and norms across all municipal corporations in the state. The court also ordered punitive action against those failing to adhere to the plastic waste management rules and norms.

A report presented by GPCB in the court on Friday, based on inspections conducted in eight municipal corporations, highlighted significant violations. It was found  that the Bhavnagar Municipal Corporation did not have any system or machinery for plastic waste segregation, and in Gandhinagar, two out of three sites for waste recovery facilities and dumping sites were non-operational. The court expressed serious concern over these lapses and instructed GPCB to take punitive action against the violators.

Meanwhile, the Chief Justice criticised the Okha Municipality for failing to complete the construction of the material recovery facility and allowing hazardous plastic waste to accumulate openly in one place. The court pointed out that the Okha Municipality and its Chief Officer seemed neither cautious nor serious about plastic waste disposal.

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