Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Nov 24: For not filing the Action Taken Report (ATR) with regard to enforcement of ban on use of polythene and give due publicity to prohibition for general public in ecologically fragile tourist areas in J&K and Ladakh, High Court today sought personal appearance of Secretaries of various departments before the court.
The Division Bench of Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Puneet Gupta while hearing an application seeking release of a vehicle seized for carrying prohibited material said that despite various opportunities, the officials have failed to file the reply to the instant application.
Court directed Senior Superintendent of Police Kathua, Secretaries of H&UDD, Tourism, Environment and Forest, Floriculture, CEO PDA, CEO GDA, CEO Sonmarg Development Authority and CEO of Patnitop Development Authority to remain present before the court on next date of hearing.
Meantime, Court directed that the ATRs as directed be filed before the next date of hearing. Court said that vide interim of order dated October 23 and November 1, certain directions were passed to the authorities to file the ATRs in the matter and as per the report of the registry, no such report has been filed by any of the authorities.
Court had directed Home Department, PCB, Tourism Department, Floriculture Department, Environment and Forest Department as also the Housing Urban Development Department to prepare proper publicity material which the court said, shall be posted in the electronic and print media.
The DB had directed that publicity shall be displayed on signages at all prominent places in both the UTs putting the public at large notifying the public regarding prohibition and disclosing the liabilities which the Court said, shall be flow to the vehicle owners for carrying such prohibited material including the financial liabilities or fines.
Government is already under direction to setup a mechanism to prevent the entry of polythene into the UTs so as to ensure the ban on polythene and its allied products is implemented in letter and spirit.
The problem of use of polythene is from outside the UTs which the PCB is not in a position to curb as such the Chief Secretary of the erstwhile state was directed to setup a mechanism on entry point at Lakhanpur so that the ban of use of polythene is implemented in letter and spirit.
Court has already pointed that if the entry point is regulated then there would be drastic decrease in pollution throughout both the UTs. Apart from this Divisional Commissioners of both provinces were directed to monitor the entry, trade and sale of polythene material and indicate their progress by filing the latest status report on next date.
It is worth mentioning here that the use of polythene is strictly banned by the Court. However the polythene with 50 microns in thickness is allowed by virtue of SRO 45. Court had put strong doubts regarding the misuse of the SRO and its implementation and PCB was to examine the SRO minutely the mechanism in place about the said SRO.
“Ban on polythene carry bags-Ban on the manufacture, stocking, distribution, sale and use of polythene carry bags, plastic sheets or like, cover made of plastic sheet, plastic packaging and multilayered packaging less than fifty microns in thickness within the territorial limits”, SRO 45 reads.
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