Sri Lanka, May 16 -- The Centre for Environmental Justice (CEJ) has filed a Fundamental Rights petition before the Supreme Court seeking a directive compelling the Government to introduce a levy on single-use plastic and polythene shopping bags in a bid to curb mounting environmental pollution.

The petition was taken up before a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena, which fixed the matter for support on November 3. The petitioners are seeking an order directing the relevant authorities to immediately establish and implement a government-administered levy on single-use plastic and polythene bags.

They further requested that the revenue collected through such a levy be credited to a designated public fund exc...