The Southern Bench of the Nationwide Inexperienced Tribunal (NGT) has directed Tamil Nadu authorities to repair the charge to be collected from individuals looking for permission to immerse Vinayaka idols in designated waterbodies through the Vinayaka Chathurti pageant in order that the burden of cleansing and restoring the waterbodies is borne by associations or people who’re permitted to immerse the idols.
Primarily based on an evaluation of the water samples collected by the Tamil Nadu Air pollution Management Board earlier than and after the idol immersion, the Bench, comprising Justice Pushpa Sathyanarayana and knowledgeable member Satyagopal Korlapati, famous that wherever giant idols have been immersed, particularly in city areas, the recent waterbodies have been polluted.
Although air pollution couldn’t be detected within the sea due to the impression of dilution, giant portions of remnants of the idols had been recovered, it mentioned. Based on the rules, solely idols manufactured from pure and eco-friendly supplies comparable to clay and dirt are allowed to be immersed in waterbodies. Nevertheless, this isn’t being adopted owing to poor consciousness and enforcement.
At an earlier listening to of this petition, the Bench had shaped a committee, headed by the Further Chief Secretary to the Departments of Setting, Local weather Change, and Forests, to simplify the rules for idol immersion in consonance with the norms of the Central Air pollution Management Board of India (CPCB).
Based on a report submitted earlier than the Bench in 2023, the Tamil Nadu Air pollution Management Board collated an inventory of 48 idol-manufacturers and 25,519 organisers who have been issued permits to put in Vinayaka idols. As many as 275 unapproved producers have been observed throughout inspections.
Ordering the committee to convene a gathering at the very least six months earlier than the pageant for notifying waterbodies, creating synthetic tanks, and stopping manufacture of plaster of paris idols, the Bench mentioned the charge for idol immersion should rely on the dimensions of the idol to be immersed.