Bombay High Court upholds ban on use of PoP idols during Ganesh Chaturthi, Navratri

The Bombay High Court on Monday dismissed a petition filed by a social worker challenging the validity of the revised guidelines which banned use of Plaster of Paris (PoP) for making idols which are used during Ganesh Chaturthi and Navratri..The guidelines for idol immersion were notified by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) in 2010 and were revised in 2020.The plea by Ajay Sadashiv Vaishampayan said that the 2010 guidelines issued by the CPCB on idol immersion, were sufficient and ban on PoP idols was not necessary.In this regard, the plea highlighted how the National Green Tribunal had, in 2013, quashed the Gujarat government's decision to ban PoP Ganesh idols.However, a bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice MS Karnik dismissed the PIL after noting that the NGT had already decided the matter and that the Supreme Court had already upheld that decision..The plea was filed to revoke the ban on manufacturing of PoP Ganesh idols imposed by the CPCB through the revised guidelines of May 2020. Vaishampayan pointed out that the guidelines of 2010 were sufficient for protection of environment and a ban on PoP idols was not necessary. According to him, instead of banning manufacturing of PoP idols, CPCB ought to have banned immersion of PoP idols in natural water bodies.The revised guidelines, according to his plea, were violative of articles 14, 19, 21 and 25 of the Constitution of India. He contended that the guidelines were only advisory in nature and could not be equated to statutory rules or regulations as they were not published in the official gazette as required under the provisions of Environment Protection Act or Water Act.He also pointed out that Plaster of Paris had not been declared a polluting or hazardous substance in the Environment Protection Act and argued that CPCB does not have the legislative competence to declare it as a pollutant and ban its use in idol making.Thereafter, he highlighted that the ban will result in a shortage of idols which in turn will violate the right to freedom of religion enjoyed by citizens under article 25 of the Constitution of India.The petition therefore prayed for setting aside of the revised guidelines along with directions to CPCB and Department of Environment and Climate Change to examine the constituents of PoP and Shadu clay and also to study their effects on polluted and unpolluted water.