The Karnataka High Court has ordered the state government and the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB) to ban the use of extra thin plastic bags in the state. The order was passed by a division bench, after a judge referred certain letters received by him to the chief justice of the Supreme Court, who directed the state high court to treat them as public interest litigation. The petitioners in the letters had stated that the use of extra thin plastic bags pollutes the environment as they were non-biodegradable. They noted that policies formulated by the Union government with regard to the use of plastic items, were being ignored by the state government and the KSPCB.