A team of Supreme court lawyers who arrived here on Thursday visited various places to assess the ground reality of plastic waste management techniques adopted by the civic bodies in the urban area.

The team inspected the available facilities for treatment, hospitalization and surgery at the multipurpose veterinary hospital at Chetak Circle, the shelter home for animals run by an NGO called Animal Aid at Badi, the coin house of the Udaipur Municipal corporation and the trench ground situated at Balicha here.

The team comprising of advocates Beena Madhawan, Menaka Guruswamy and DV Raghuwamsey arrived here on Thursday morning on a one day visit. The inspection was told to be in connection with a Public Interest Litigation filed in the Supreme Court for animal’s rights and the complete ban of plastic bags.

VSPCA, Vishakapatnam, Karuna Society for Animals and Nature, Puttaparthi, and three individuals are the litigants in this case supported by two senior lawyers.  The respondents in this case are the Central Government and all the States of India, through their Animal Husbandry Departments, including the Animal Welfare Board of India. The  team had specifically filed the PIL as an animal rights litigation.

The petitioners have sought prohibition in a time-bound manner open garbage disposal system and remove open garbage receptacles. The PIL also demanded of Municipalities to segregate all plastic waste from other waste, prohibition on use, sale and disposal of plastic bags  and animal shelters and treat animals suffering from stomach ache due to ingestion of plastic.

“The team visited many places, made a detailed note of the waste disposal system. Though our technique may not be a perfect one but in comparison to other places, the system here is quite satisfactory and we are seeking public participation for improvement” said Himmat Singh Barhet, the UMC Commissioner. The SC team also met O.P Sharma the DFO and Jagdish Singh the regional officer of the Pollution Control Board. The team will further inspect and assess similar facilities and plastic waste management at Jodhpur and Jaipur on Friday onward.

Contributed by: Geetha Sunil Pillai