The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the August 30 order by the National Green Tribunal (NGT Western Ghat Zone bench) capping the number of performers in each Dhol-Tasha-Zanj troupe to 30 persons during the Lord Ganesh idol immersion rituals in Pune.
Issuing a notice to the Maharashtra government, Pune administration, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), and others, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, heading a bench also comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra, said, “Let them do their Dhol-Tasha, this is the heart of Pune.”
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Staying the green tribunal’s Western Ghat Zone bench order, the court said, “(NGT) Directions will affect those who play Dhol and Tasha during the Ganesh festival. There shall be a stay on direction number 4 by the NGT. Let them do their Dhol and Tasha. This is in the heart of Pune.”
The advocate appearing for the petitioners, including Yuva Vadya Pathak Trust, said that ‘Dhol-Tasha’ holds deep cultural significance for the Ganesh festival in Pune, having been a tradition for over a hundred years.
On August 30, the NGT Western Ghat Zone bench had ordered real-time monitoring of noise around Ganesh pandals and during immersion processions in Pune as a part of a series of directives aimed at curbing noise pollution during the 10-day Ganeshotsav, which began on September 7.
The NGT had imposed restrictions on loudspeakers beyond a total capacity of 100 watts (W) in a pandal, prohibition on the use of toll (metallic high noise-making unit) and DJ sets during immersion (Visarjan) processions, and a limit of 30 performers per Dhol-Tasha-Zanj troupe, among other directives.
