Chennai:
The Tamil Nadu government on Friday informed the Madras High Court that it will undertake a complete revamp of the empty liquor bottle buyback scheme, while the court directed that the Rs 10 deposit collected per bottle must be clearly reflected in receipts.
The bottle return scheme is being implemented in TASMAC outlets following earlier court directions aimed at reducing environmental damage. During the hearing, Advocate General Vijay Narayan submitted that the scheme has been rolled out in all but three districts.
He further stated that the government is planning a comprehensive overhaul of the scheme and is exploring ways to exclude TASMAC staff from the task of collecting empty bottles, while also addressing practical difficulties faced by them.
A special bench comprising Justices N Sathish Kumar and D Bharatha Chakravarthy observed that the additional Rs 10 collected per bottle must be transparently shown in the bill. The court also cautioned that the amount should not be used as a means to levy excess charges on consumers.
The bench directed the state to file a detailed report on the proposed revamp within eight weeks and adjourned the matter to July 10.