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No PoP idols during Ganesh Chaturthi and Navratri, says Bombay High Court

The CPCB's 2010 guidelines on idol immersion were sufficient, and a ban on PoP idols was unnecessary, as per the petition. 

No PoP idols during Ganesh Chaturthi and Navratri, says Bombay High Court - adt
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Mumbai, First Published Jun 27, 2022, 2:35 PM IST

The Bombay High Court dismissed a petition on Monday filed by a social worker challenging the legality of revised guidelines that prohibited the use of Plaster of Paris (PoP) in creating idols for Ganesh Chaturthi and Navratri.

The Central Pollution Control Board issued guidelines for idol immersion in 2010 and revised them in 2020.

According to Ajay Sadashiv Vaishampayan's petition, the CPCB's 2010 guidelines on idol immersion were sufficient, and a ban on PoP idols was unnecessary.

In this regard, the petition emphasised how the National Green Tribunal had overturned the Gujarat government's decision to ban PoP Ganesh idols in 2013.

However, a bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice MS Karnik dismissed the PIL.

Know the use of PoP in Mumbai during Ganeshotsav
Every year, an average of 11,000 large (sarvajanik) idols and 1.6 lakh household idols are made with PoP.

In 2019, the umbrella body of Ganesh mandals prohibited using thermocol and plastic. During the 11-day Ganeshotsav festival, an average of 75 large idols and 40,000 household idols are made out of clay, while 250 paper idols are made.

PoP has been used by Lalbaugcha Raja, Mumbai Cha Raja Ganesh Galli, Andhericharaja, Fortcha Icchapurti, and many other popular idols for nearly a decade.

In 2019, 2.11 lakh idols were immersed in 129 locations across Mumbai. In 2018, the figure was 2.03 lakh, 1.92 lakh in 2017, and 2.09 lakh in 2016. Over four years, the percentage of eco-friendly idols increased from 2 per cent to 5 per cent, with mandals adopting paper idols seeing the most significant increase.

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