Ensure no PoP idols are installed during Ganesh festival: Bombay HC

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Friday directed the state government to inform sarvajanik mandals that they cannot install idols made of plaster of paris (PoP) during the Ganesh festival next month, in keeping with guidelines issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB). The court rapped the government and various municipal corporations in Maharashtra for failing to implement the CPCB guidelines despite the passage of more than three years and stressed the need for strict punishment for violators.
The directions were issued while the court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed jointly by three non-profits working on environmental issues and a clutch of small-scale idol-makers who have forgone the use of PoP.
The petitioners through their counsel Ronita Bhattacharya Bector cited the CPCB’s guidelines issued in 2020, which called for a complete ban on the use of PoP for making religious idols. While the guidelines were kept in abeyance for a year to allow idol-makers to transition to environment-friendly materials, the state government and municipal bodies in Maharashtra had failed to implement the guidelines in subsequent years, the petitioners claimed, seeking the court’s intervention.
On Friday, an association of idol makers from Thane sought to intervene in the PIL, saying they would be badly affected if the ban on PoP idols was imposed this year.
“Idol makers have already received orders and 80% of their work has been completed,” the idol makers’ counsel SM Gorwadkar told the court.
“Is the plea that you were not aware of the CPCB guidelines available to you?” asked the bench comprising chief justice Devendra Upadhyaya and justice Amit Borkar.
The state government told the court that it had taken several measures to promote an eco-friendly Ganesh festival, like making shadu clay available for free to sculptors and providing space to them for making Ganapati idols using such clay. An app aggregating all idol makers compliant with CPCB guidelines had also been created, the government said. But the advocate representing idol makers in Thane questioned the popularity and viability of the app, saying it been downloaded only about 100 times and listed just 10 idol makers from Mumbai, five from Thane, and three from Nashik.
The court refrained from banning the sale of PoP idols since livelihoods of numerous idol makers were at stake. Instead, it directed authorities to withhold permission for sarvajanik mandals to install PoP idols; in cases where licenses have been issued, the respective mandals will have to be notified about the need to steer clear of PoP idols, the court said. The next hearing in the case is scheduled on October 21.