The Maharashtra government has allowed bottled water makers to decide buyback charge for the bottles, reported The Times of India.
According to the report, the decision comes after the manufacturers opposed the buyback rates, stating they are very high, especially for the smaller bottles.
As per the revised notification, manufacturers have been given green signal to decide the rate they want to impose during purchase.
As per the notification, PET bottles below 500 ml capacity have been banned for packaging water.
Additionally, the report said that bottles with 500 ml to 1 litre capacity can be sold with a recommended refundable buyback charge of Rs 2 and those of I litre could be charged Rs 1, the report said.
“We made representations to the government to review the refundable charge, especially for smaller bottles.
The Rs 2 prescribed by them was too high and would have made the whole scheme impractical,” an official was quoted as saying in the report.
The development comes as the Maharashtra government issued a plastic ban in the state.