The Madras High Court on Tuesday directed Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (Tasmac) to implement the empty liquor bottle buyback scheme in Coimbatore and Perambalur districts from November 15. The court said the scheme could be implemented on a trial basis for two months in one large and one small district to study the difficulties, if there were any.
Justices N. Sathish Kumar and D. Bharatha Chakravarthy passed the orders despite a great amount of resistance from Tasmac to enter into the business of collecting empty bottles. It cited lack of space in the retail shops to store the empty bottles, the possible problems in accounting for them and reluctance on the part of the staff as reasons.
However, the judges said the corporation must take the responsibility of receiving the empty glass bottles which otherwise find their way into public places, agricultural fields, waterbodies, storm water drains and garbage bins. Apart from environmental concerns, the rag pickers and conservancy workers face the risk of suffering blood injuries.
They agreed with amicus curiae T. Mohan and M. Santhanaraman that the buyback scheme, introduced first in the Nilgiris district to prevent injuries to animals, had been a huge success with over 70% of the bottles getting returned to the retail shops in order to take back ₹10 that was being charged over and above the Maximum Retail Price.
However, since Tasmac was highly reluctant to extend the scheme across the State, the judges told Additional Advocate- General J Ravindran that it could be introduced in two districts on a pilot basis and a status report on its implementation and working could be filed by the corporation in the court on January 20.
Plastic ban
When advocate Chevanan Mohan referred to the earlier orders passed by the court with respect to the establishment of booths to seize plastic products from the visitors to Udhagamandalam and Kodaikanal, the judges called for a status report from the respective Collectors.
Justice Kumar said the Collectors of Coimbatore as well as the Nilgiris had assured the court that plastic collection booths would be established on the routes leading to Udhagamandalam from Kotagiri and Coonoor. However, such booths do not appear to have been established. “The Collectors have forgotten everything,” he said.
The Bench warned of stringent action if the booths were not established and a compliance report was not filed at the next hearing.
Road kills
Dealing with yet another case, the judges ordered laying of speed breakers on the Mettupalayam-Kallar and Sigur- Masinagudi stretches to prevent the death of wild animals on being hit by speeding motor vehicles.
Mr. Santhanaraman produced photographs of a mongoose, an Indian civet and a spotted deer that had died on these stretches. He also listed six locations on the Mettupalayam stretch and 18 locations on the Masinagudi stretch where the speed breakers had to be installed to prevent such road kills.
Invasive species
The Division Bench further directed the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests to constitute separate teams of officials to monitor the work of removing exotic and invasive species from the forest areas and replacing them with native species.
The judges were of the view that the monitoring could not be done by the officers in charge of other duties too.
Those involved in protection of forests might not be able to concentrate on eradication of the exotic and invasive species. There must be teams that should be entrusted with the exclusive responsibility of removing the invasive species and replacing them with the native species, the judges said.
On relocating the residents of over 500 acres of forestland at Thengumarhada in Kotagiri taluk in the Nilgiris district, the judges called for a report from the National Tiger Conservation Authority on sanctioning ₹74.55 crore required to be paid in compensation at the rate of ₹15 lakh per family.
