Sarvajanik Mandals Shall Not Install Ganesh Idols Made Of Plaster Of Paris: Bombay High Court

The Bombay High Court has directed the ‘Sarvajanik Mandals’ seeking permission for Ganesh festival i.e., Ganesh Chaturthi to follow the guidelines and abide by at least one condition that they will not install any Ganesh Idol made of Plaster of Paris (POP).

The Court issued directions in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by Rohit Manohar Joshi and others seeking action against POP made idols being banned and but still in use.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar ordered, “We understand that permission to various sarvajanik mandals must have been granted by now, however, we direct that in terms of the order passed by this Court on 28th August 2024 by Nagpur Bench, the sarvajanik mandals seeking permission for Ganesh festival shall be clearly intimated that they have to mandatorily follow the guidelines and that they will have to abide at least by one condition of the guidelines that they will not install any Ganesh idol made of Plaster of Paris.”

The Bench added that in cases where permission has already been granted by the authority concerned, an additional condition shall be immediately communicated to them that Sarvajanik Mandals shall not install idols made of Plaster of Paris.

Senior Advocate S.M. Gorwadkar and Advocate Ronita Bhattacharya represented the petitioners while Advocate General Birendra Saraf, Senior Advocates S.K. Mishra, and Milind Sathe represented the respondents.

Background -

In view of the ensuing Ganesh festival, which is to commence from September 7, 2024, the counsel for the petitioners prayed before the Court that on account of the fact that the revised guidelines for idol immersion issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on May 12, 2020 are not being adhered to. Hence, appropriate directions were sought to be issued that the said guidelines may be followed and acted upon.

Special emphasis was laid by the counsel for the petitioners in respect of clause (2) of the said guidelines, which contains certain directions for idol makers, craftsmen, or artisans. It was stated in this regard that despite the said guidelines containing a ban on use of Plaster of Paris for making idols, it is still unabated in Mumbai and rest of the State of Maharashtra. Clauses (2) and (4) of the said guidelines contain instructions to idol makers as also to the local and urban authorities.

The High Court in the above regard observed, “The very fact that the association of idol manufacturers has sought its intervention in this PIL petition reveals that so far as ban on making idols using Plaster of Paris is concerned, it has not been enforced in full measure. Various submissions have been made on behalf of learned counsel representing the parties and one of the concerns expressed at the Bar is that the idol manufacturers have received orders long ago and therefore, any direction putting a complete ban on using Plaster of Paris for making idols at this juncture would not be in the interest of artisans whose livelihood would be at stake.”

The Court noted that implementation of such guidelines was deferred for a period of one year, however, since last more than three years, guidelines are in place and though various steps have been taken by the Municipal Corporations as also the State Government, the use of Plastic of Paris in making idols has not stopped.

“At least three Government orders have been brought to our notice issued in the years 2023 and 2024 directing all concerned including the District Magistrates and all the urban local bodies to observe and enforce the ban of Plaster of Paris for making idols, however, in our opinion, sufficient measures have not been taken in the sense that non-adherence to the guidelines does not entail any deterrence such as imposition of fine etc.”, it said.

The Court also took note of the two circulars/letters dated April 26, 2024 issued by the Principal Secretary, Environment and Climate Change Department of the State Government, which are addressed to all District Magistrates, Chief Executive Officers of all Zilla Parishads and Municipal Commissioners of all Municipal Corporations and Chief Executive Officers of all Municipal Councils, in which it has been directed that these bodies “shall scrupulously implement the Revised Guidelines for Idol Immersion issued by the Central Pollution Control Board dtd. 12/5/2020”.

“We hope and expect that the instructions issued and directions given by the State Government in the aforesaid letters/circulars dated 26th April 2024 shall be implemented by all concerned”, it concluded.

Accordingly, the High Court issued the necessary directions.

Cause Title- Rohit Manohar Joshi & Ors. v. The State of Maharashtra & Ors. (Neutral Citation: 2024:BHC-AS:34899-DB)

Appearance:

Petitioners: Senior Advocate S.M. Gorwadkar, Advocates Ronita Bhattacharya, Sejal Khan, Satish Muley, Mosin Naik, Satyajeet Joshi, Chinmay Joshi, and V.N. Bolinjkar.

Respondents: Advocate General Birendra Saraf, Senior Advocates S.K. Mishra, Milind Sathe, GP P.P. Kakade, Addl. GP O.A. Chandurkar, AGP G.R. Raghuwanshi, Advocates Jaya Bagwe, R.Y. Sirsikar, N.R. Bubna, Pooja Joshi Deshpande, Sandeep D. Shinde, A.S. Rao, Rakesh Bhatkar, Sarang S. Aradhye, Gauri Velankar, Saarth Chordia, Shantanu Gurav, M.L. Patil, Abhijit Adagule, Abhinandan Yagnik, C.M. Lokesh, Maruresh Lagu, and Sagar Patil.

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