Citizens' Right To Clean Water Prevails: Bombay High Court Declines Plea To Immerse 'Eco-Friendly' Ganesh Idol In Natural Lake

Citizens' Right To Clean Water Prevails: Bombay High Court Declines Plea To Immerse 'Eco-Friendly' Ganesh Idol In Natural Lake

The Bombay High Court on Thursday (September 4) refused permission to citizens of Mumbai's plush Malabar Hill area to immerse their "eco-friendly" Ganesha idols at city's Banganga Talao (lake). A division bench of Acting Chief Justice Shree Chandrashekhar and Justice Aarti Sathe refused to grant any relief to the petitioner Sanjay Shirke. According to Shirke, he and other residents of the Malabar Hill area have been immersing their eco-friendly idols in the Banganga Talao every year for several years altogether. However, this year the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) issued a fresh set of guidelines on August 26, by which it prohibited the immersion of even the eco-friendly idols in natural waterbodies. This, the petitioners argued, violated their fundamental right to immerse their eco-friendly idols at Banganga Talao as they have been doing so for several years. The petition alleged that this guideline violates their rights guaranteed under the Constitution of India. On the other hand, the MPCB and also the Maharashtra Government argued that no one can claim a fundamental right to immerse his or her idol at a particular water body, specifically, the Banganga Talao, which is a "protected monument" under the Maharashtra Ancient Monuments Act. Advocate General Dr Birendra Saraf representing the State, also pointed out that since the Talao is a protected monument, the Archaeological Department's permission is required for any immersion activity. He added that till now no such permission has been granted to anyone by the concerned department. The judges refused to consider the submission of the petitioners that the previous guidelines only prohibited immersion of Plaster of Paris (PoP) made idols in natural water bodies and thus the fresh guidelines, issued just a day before the beginning of the festival, breached their fundamental rights. The judges rather accepted the contention of the AG, who emphasised that the MPCB has been encouraging citizens not to immerse any kind of idols be it of PoP or eco-friendly in natural water bodies. The judges held that the petitioners were only aggrieved by the alleged breach of their "private and individual rights" and they disregarded the larger rights of fellow citizens. "It is settled law that the public rights of the citizens i.e. right to clean air and clean water, would prevail over the private rights of individuals. Thus, the private rights of the petitioners cannot override the public rights of the citizens," the judges observed. The judges further said that the MPCB was empowered under the statute to issue guidelines and thus there was nothing wrong in the said guidelines. The bench further agreed with the State's stand that there is no absolute right of any individual to immerse their idols at the Banganga Talao. It added that the petitioners have other alternative sites like artificial ponds or even the Chowpatty for immersion of their eco-friendly idols.