Ganesh Utsav | Bombay HC Directs BMC To Consider Plea Seeking Policy To Deny Future Permissions To Pandal Organizers Violating Norms

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday asked the Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM) to consider drafting a policy wherein Ganesh Utsav or other festival organisers found violating permission norms are denied permission for future events.

The PIL filed by NGO Prameya Foundation alleged that pandal organizers violate norms by digging up roads to erect the pandal and leave the roads in a sorry condition after the festival, causing inconvenience to organizers.

Therefore, it sought a direction to MCGM to impose an additional deterrent on organizers by denying future permission and levying hefty fines for digging public roads.

A division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Arif S Doctor disposed of the PIL with a direction to the MCGM to consider enacting a policy based on the prayers in the petition by treating the petition as a representation.

“...may be a policy decision has to be made by competent authority of the municipal corporation in respect of the petitioner’s prayer... Accordingly, we dispose of the plea with direction to BMC to take a decision in respect of prayer and shall take into account averments of petition and treating petition as representation,” it added.

During the hearing, Advocate Purnima H Kantharia, representing the MCGM apprised the court of the civic body’s existing policy for such violations under section 3 of the Mumbai Municipal Corporation Act.

According to the policy, if an organizer violates any of the conditions the amount deposited by them while applying for permission shall be forfeited.

However, the NGO pointed out that the condition wasn’t a sufficient deterrent as organizers continue to violate norms in the future. They sought that pandal organizers who violate norms during the upcoming festival be restrained from putting up pandals from next year.

The NGO mentioned Lalbaugcha Raja Ganesh Utsav mandal as one of the violators.

“...the concerns raised in PIL need to be addressed. It is common knowledge that those who seek permission to erect pandals during the festival season and ceremonies are supposed to leave the roads in the same condition. Some of them violate conditions and... damage is caused to roads, which unnecessarily causes difficulty to the pedestrians and other users of the roads,” the bench observed.

The court asked the MCGM to take a final decision on the issue within six weeks.