PIL Filed in Bombay High Court Over Use of Low-Quality Paper for Balbharati Textbooks

Mumbai/Pune, 18th October 2025: A Mumbai-based NGO, Sankalp Jeevan Charitable Trust, has filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) before the Bombay High Court challenging the Maharashtra government’s decision to lower the quality standards of paper used for printing Balbharati textbooks.

The PIL, filed through advocates Dhaval Vussonji and Associates, names the State of Maharashtra and the Maharashtra State Bureau of Textbook Production and Curriculum Research (Balbharati) as respondents. The trust claims that the recent tender notices issued on September 30, 2025, for the supply of paper and paperboard for the academic year 2026–27 drastically reduce key quality parameters such as brightness, opacity, tear index, tensile strength, and smoothness compared to previous years.

According to the petition, this reduction could lead to eye strain, headaches, and poor readability among schoolchildren who use these textbooks. It also warns that the weaker paper will tear easily, affecting the durability of books that are often reused by students in subsequent years.

The petition highlights that while earlier tenders mandated higher specifications — including 85% brightness and 92% opacity — the new tender reduces them to 78% and 85%, respectively. It alleges that such a move “compromises the quality of learning materials for millions of students” and has been carried out “arbitrarily, without any consultation with experts or assessment of its impact on students.”

The petitioner also notes that other state and national textbook boards, including those in Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Assam, and the NCERT, maintain higher standards for paper quality. The trust argues that the Maharashtra tender’s new specifications make Balbharati textbooks “one of the lowest-quality” in the country.

Expert opinion annexed with the petition, from paper consultant Govind Holani, supports the contention that the downgraded paper quality “may compromise performance in long-term use, where mechanical strength and print clarity are crucial.”

The NGO has sought directions from the court to quash the current tenders or direct Balbharati to reissue them with the same specifications as the 2025–26 tender, which maintained higher quality benchmarks. It has also urged the court to stay the ongoing tender process until the matter is heard.

The PIL invokes Articles 21 and 21A of the Constitution of India, arguing that the state’s decision violates children’s fundamental right to education and health by supplying inferior textbooks.

The director and public relations officer of Balbharati did not respond to queries from Punekar News on the issue.