CHENNAI: The State government told the Madras High Court it will completely revamp the empty liquor bottle buyback scheme, while the court directed that the Rs 10 deposit per bottle must be properly reflected in receipts.
The bottle return scheme has been implemented in TASMAC liquor outlets in accordance with the high court directives aimed at minimising environmental damage.
When the case came up for hearing again before the special bench comprising Justices N Sathish Kumar and D Bharatha Chakravarthy, advocate general Vijay Narayan submitted that the bottle return scheme has been implemented in all but three districts.
He further submitted that the government will undertake a "complete revamp" of the scheme and is exploring ways to avoid involving TASMAC staff in the collection of empty bottles, while also making efforts to address issues faced by the staff.
The bench observed that when an additional Rs 10 per bottle is collected under the bottle return scheme, the same must be clearly reflected in the receipt, and that such collection of Rs 10 should not be treated as a licence to levy excess charges on consumers.
Thereafter, the court directed that a comprehensive report on the revamp of the bottle return scheme be filed within eight weeks and posted the matter to July 10.
The state government told the Madras High Court it will undertake a complete revamp of the empty liquor bottle buyback scheme
It also said TASMAC staff will eventually be exempt from the task of collecting empty bottles
The high court said when an additional Rs 10 per bottle is collected under the scheme, it must be clearly reflected in the receipt
The court also said the additional cost should not be treated as a licence to levy excess charges on consumers