Bengaluru: In a setback for Greater Bengaluru Authority (GBA), Karnataka high court has stayed the operation of the public notice issued by Bengaluru Solid Waste Management Ltd (BSWML) on the new animal waste management rules.Saturday’s order comes amid a dispute between the civic authorities and poultry traders, who have strongly opposed the proposed charges, arguing that the waste generated by meat shops has commercial value and that imposing a disposal fee would increase their operating costs and could eventually make chicken costlier for consumers.Karnataka Poultry Traders Association had also staged protests and called for a two-day shutdown of chicken shops earlier this month over the issue.Hearing a petition filed by the association, Justice BM Shyam Prasad passed the interim order. Under the latest rules of BSWML, animal-waste generators are required to hand over chicken, mutton, fish and other animal waste, as well as bones, only to notified private service providers. The prescribed service charge is Rs 5 per kg for animal waste and Rs 3 per kg for bone waste. The notice also provides for penalties of Rs 2,000 and Rs 3,000 for non-compliance and warns that trade licences could be cancelled for violations.The dispute gained traction earlier this month after poultry traders warned that the new waste charges could eventually be passed on to consumers through higher chicken prices or absorbed by reducing returns to poultry farmers. GBA, however, has maintained that the structured system is aimed at ensuring scientific disposal and preventing improper dumping of animal waste. TOI had reported on the issue in its Sept 3 edition.The charges triggered objections from poultry traders, who argued that the waste should not be treated merely as material requiring disposal. They pointed out that feathers, bones and other poultry waste are collected and processed by industries into products such as poultry meal, bone meal and animal feed. The traders argued that forcing them to pay for the collection of material that has commercial value would add to their business costs.The petitioner contended that GBA’s action was contrary to Greater Bengaluru Governance Act.The court was informed that some poultry meat centres (PMCs) have contracts with pharmaceutical and other companies manufacturing animal feed. In such cases, feathers and other waste are packed and handed over to the concerned representatives within eight hours, with traders receiving a price for the material—an arrangement that, the petitioner said, could extend to other categories of waste depending on the industry. The petitioner further argued that GBA’s blanket system did not take these existing commercial and waste-processing arrangements into account.Justice Shyam Prasad observed that if the process explained by the petitioner had not been considered while issuing the public notice, GBA should give the traders an opportunity to present their case and examine whether the existing distribution arrangements could be protected. The court posted the matter for further hearing on Nov 5.
