Bombay High Court pulls up Maharashtra government over ‘All is well’ approach to noise pollution

The Bombay High Court while banning the bursting of firecrackers on roads during festivals criticised the Maharashtra government for painting a rosy picture and chanting the All is Well mantraBombay High Court further noted that the rules on noise pollution were not being implementedThe HC stressed the need for total restraint on loud music and called for a more dignified and civilised way of celebrating festivalsBombay High Court slams Maharashtra GovernmentThere was a total laxity on the part of the enforcement machinery in implementing the Noise PollutionRegulation and Control Rules a bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Neela Gokhale held on TuesdayThe Bombay High Court earlier had ordered a complete ban on loudspeakers DJs laser beams and bursting of firecrackers on public roads during festival processionsThe court had also taken suo motu on its own cognisance of the issue of severe noise and air pollution caused during processionsBombay High Court further remarked that such things are completely unwarranted and festivals can be celebrated without causing noise and air pollution It further noted that a more dignified and civilised way of having these processions and celebrations was the imminent requirement of the contemporary timesWhile missing Are we going to get additional blessings from God by using all these loudspeakers and firecrackers As a responsible society we should put an end to all this Take the Wari procession annual pilgrimage on foot to Pandharpur for example It is carried out so peacefully with absolutely no loudspeakers or noise the HC notedIn its order made available on Wednesday the court said it cannot accept the state governments attempt of painting a rosy picture and reciting the mantra of All is wellWe do not agree looking at the ground realities which have at all relevant times in the past been a matter of serious concern in successive proceedings and there is no change in such reality of brazen violations on this count the HC saidThe order also noted that permissions granted by the police for such processions and other general orders banning the use of firecrackers loudspeakers laser beams and DJs in the night remain a routine formality and are rendered ineffective by the inaction of the official machinery thus permitting every kind of violation as per PTIA complete ban on loudspeakers and dhol tashasIt is high time that in large cities having dense populations like Mumbai Thane Pune and Nashik where the majority of the citizens are made to silently suffer such brazen violations a regime of total restraint on the playing of loud music by use of loudspeakers dhol tashas use of cylinders and so on needs to be completely banned and a more dignified and civilised way of having these processions and celebrations is the imminent requirement of the contemporary times the HC saidThe bench while imposing a complete ban on the bursting of firecrackers on public roads noted that none of the firecrackers openly sold has any indication of the noise decibel levels it would generateBombay High Court also said There also appears to be no norms being implemented qua the extent of toxicity of the smoke generated upon their bursting This prima facie appears to be an unregulated area as cited by PTIWith inputs from PTI