BENGALURU: A day after the World Anti-Tobacco Day, the High Court has suggested to the state and central government to bring out a policy to ban subsidy and incentives provided to tobacco growers.
A division bench, headed by acting Chief Justice S.K. Mukherjee, was hearing a PIL seeking a ban on tobacco and allied products. The advocate for the petitioner, Jayna Kothari, argued, “The government has an obligation to promote and protect public health under the Constitution. The government is under obligation to discourage the use and cultivation of tobacco, but instead it is indirectly supporting tobacco cultivation by promoting it.”
The bench while disposing of the matter also directed the government to rehabilitate tobacco farmers by suggesting an alternative crop.
