Additional government pleader Anjali Helekar told the court, "The GR clearly states it is to be implemented from the date of issuance." A division bench of justices V M Kanade and Dr Shalini Phansalkar Joshi took on record the statement made by the government.
City schools need not wait for an official deadline to reduce the weight of students' bags, the state government informed the Bombay High Court on Friday. A Government Resolution (GR) in this regard was issued on July 21 this year.
Additional government pleader Anjali Helekar told the court, "The GR clearly states it is to be implemented from the date of issuance." A division bench of justices V M Kanade and Dr Shalini Phansalkar Joshi took on record the statement made by the government.
The court, however, noted that there was no clarity on the disciplinary action that would be taken against school authorities. "Merely taking action against headmasters is not enough. Proper directions need to be given. The information given by the secretary does not specify any disciplinary action. There is a lot of ambiguity regarding the implementation. The state has to further clarify the resolution," it said. The next hearing will be on September 23.
Whlle hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by social activist Swati Patil, the court gave the government three weeks to take a decision.
Earlier, the government had appointed a committee that had noted that the school bags were so heavy that 60 per cent of students below the age of 10 were suffering from orthopaedic and stress-induced ailments.
The committee had recommended that one book per subject should be used for three months and the textbook weight can be reduced by using less weight paper and no hard cover. It also suggested use of e-classroom, audio-visual technology and other technological means for teaching.
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