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Ganeshotsav in Mumbai: Supreme Court seeks response from Maharashtra Govt, BMC on PoP idol immersions in lakes, rivers
- by Webdesk
- 01 Sep 2025
Source: The Time Of India
Supreme Court Notice to Maharashtra Govt, BMC Over PoP Idol Immersions During Ganesh Festival
Mumbai: The Supreme Court on Monday issued notices to the Maharashtra government and other authorities in connection with a challenge to the Bombay High Court’s orders allowing the manufacture and immersion of Plaster of Paris (PoP) idols in natural water bodies. This permission, petitioners argue, directly contradicts the Central Pollution Control Board’s (CPCB) revised guidelines issued in May 2020.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Bhushan Gavai and Justice K. Vinod Chandran not only directed the state government but also the CPCB, the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), and civic bodies such as the BMC to respond. The special leave petition (SLP) was filed by activists Rohit Joshi, Harshad Dhage, the late Sarita Khanchandani, along with nine artisans who specialize in making clay idols.
The petition challenged the High Court’s June 9 order, which amended its earlier January 30 ruling and lifted the ban on the manufacture and sale of PoP idols. According to the petitioners, this move was based on an “erroneous legal premise” and led to “unlawful dilution” of the prohibition on PoP. Matters were further complicated when the High Court, in its July 24 order, allowed the state to enforce its new immersion policy dated July 22. Under this policy, PoP Ganesh idols taller than five feet could be immersed in natural water bodies. Later, this permissible height was raised to six feet, applicable until March 2026.
The petitioners argued that the High Court wrongly accepted the CPCB expert committee’s statement that the 2020 guidelines were merely “advisory” and not binding. In reality, they contended, any change to the revised guidelines could only have been made through a formal amendment. The petition further alleged that the committee had been shown selective documents—such as the National Green Tribunal (NGT) Pune bench’s 2013 order and the Telangana High Court’s 2022 ruling—while ignoring other significant judgments.
According to the plea, multiple orders from different benches of the NGT, as well as rulings from the Bombay and Madras High Courts, had previously upheld the CPCB’s revised guidelines. If the High Court’s present orders are allowed to stand, the petition said, they will not only inflict irreversible damage on Maharashtra’s natural water bodies but also set a dangerous precedent by weakening the authority of statutory environmental guidelines.
The petition urged the Supreme Court to grant leave to appeal against the High Court’s orders and also sought interim relief in the form of a stay, especially given the ongoing Ganesh festival. It stressed that, without urgent intervention, “lakhs of PoP idols will be manufactured and immersed in seas, rivers, and lakes, leading to irreparable ecological damage and large-scale pollution.”
Senior advocate Anitha Shenoy, representing the petitioners, pointed out that the CPCB’s 2020 guidelines were officially operationalized in 2021. She highlighted that there were at least 13 court rulings, including those from the Supreme Court, which upheld these directions. Shenoy clarified that the petitioners were not seeking to disrupt the festivities but insisted that action was necessary to prevent long-term environmental harm.
The Supreme Court has now posted the matter for hearing after four weeks. During the next session, the Maharashtra government, CPCB, MPCB, and civic authorities like BMC will have to present their responses. Meanwhile, with the Ganesh festival underway and public sentiment running high, the case is likely to spark intense legal debate in the coming weeks.
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