Bombay High Court Enforces PoP Idol Ban, No Relief for Idol Makers Ahead of Maghi Ganesh Festival
Mumbai, 31st January 2025: The Bombay High Court on Thursday directed civic bodies, including the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and district collectors, to strictly enforce the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) ban on plaster of Paris (PoP) idols. The court refused to grant any relief to idol makers ahead of the Maghi Ganesh festival, which begins on Saturday.
A division bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice Bharati Dangre ruled that authorities must ensure full compliance with the CPCB’s revised guidelines from May 2020, which prohibit both the production and immersion of PoP idols. “The ban must be implemented in its entirety, in both letter and spirit,” the court stated in its order.
The directive was issued as part of an ongoing public interest litigation (PIL) filed by environmental activists seeking enforcement of the PoP idol ban. Earlier, on August 30, the court had instructed municipal bodies to inform Ganesh mandals not to use PoP idols. However, the petitioners’ lawyer, Ronita Bhattacharya Bector, argued that despite this directive, PoP idols were still being manufactured and sold for the Maghi Ganesh festival, which has seen a rise in popularity in recent years.
Senior advocate S.M. Gorwadkar, representing the idol makers, pleaded for relief, stating that artisans had already sold many idols and were now facing significant losses. However, the judges questioned the rationale behind continuing to produce PoP idols despite the ban. “When the law explicitly prohibits them, why are these idols still being made?” the bench asked.
