The Bombay High Court has directed the Union of India to submit an affidavit indicating whether it has considered the Central Pollution Control Board's (CPCB) recommendations to include plastic flowers in the list of banned single-use plastics.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Amit Borkar was hearing a petition filed by the Association of Natural Flower Growers, Pune, which requested a directive to ban the use of plastic flowers in Maharashtra.

The Court had previously directed both the Maharashtra and Central governments to submit their responses to the petition.

During the hearing, the Court observed that the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had written to the Government of India, stating that an expert committee formed by the Department of Chemicals and Petrochemicals had included plastic flowers in the list of banned single-use plastic items. CPCB had accordingly requested the government to add plastic flowers to the list.

However, the counsel representing the Union of India informed the Court that the expert committee did not recommend the inclusion of plastic flowers in the single-use plastic ban list.

In response, the Court instructed the counsel for the Union of India to seek clarification regarding the contents of CPCB’s letter. Additionally, it directed the Union of India to file an affidavit disclosing whether the recommendations in the CPCB letter to ban plastic flowers were considered and if any decision had been made.