Bombay high court bans use of plaster of Paris for Ganesh idols

The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay high court on Tuesday imposed a total ,ban on the use of plaster of Paris (PoP) for making Ganesh idols, which pollutes water, thereby polluting the environment.

The court ordered that Ganesh idols be made by using soil and natural colours. It warned that criminal cases would be registered if anyone fails to follow the verdict.

The Maharashtra Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti (MANS) president, Narendra Dabholkar, had filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Aurangabad bench of the Bombay high court in 2005, which was heard after six years.

The Union environment ministry, the Central Pollution Control Board and Maharashtra Pollution Control Board have submitted their guidelines to stop pollution.

In his PIL, Dabholkar had submitted that the use of PoP should be banned to check increasing pollution.