Will need 3 years to phase out PoP idols: State tells HC

Advocate General Milind Sathe submitted that while the State is ready to follow Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to use eco-friendly clay idols but could not impose a complete ban this year because PoP idols had already been manufactured

MUMBAI: With just 40 days left before the Ganesh festival, the Maharashtra government on Tuesday asked the Bombay High Court for three years to gradually phase out Plaster-of-Paris (PoP) idols and continue last year’s relaxation on their immersion. The court, however, questioned why the state had not acted sooner despite the issue being pending for years.

Mumbai, India – 28 June 2026: Children observe an Idol Lord Ganesh at a workshop at Lalbaug l, as begin for the upcoming Ganesh Festival, in Mumbai, India, on Sunday, 28 June 2026. (Photo by Bhushan Koyande/HT Photo)

Appearing before a division bench of Justices A.S. Gadkari and Kamal Khata, Advocate General Milind Sathe submitted that while the State is ready to follow Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to use eco-friendly clay idols but could not impose a complete ban this year because PoP idols had already been manufactured.

“We will be positively considering the PM’s appeal but we need 3 years for that to fully implement and we’ll be gradually lowering the PoP idols. We cannot bring this change overnight. We are in agreement with the PM’s appeal but we can’t do it this year. We still want the previous year’s relaxation to continue for immersion,” Sathe said.

However, the bench reminded the state government that the issue had been pending for years and that manufacturers had long been aware of the applicable guidelines.

“You’ve already been put to notice for a really long time. Every year you say the same thing. The policy was only limited till March 2026”, it remarked.

Responding to this, AG Sathe clarified that the State is not opposing the ban on idol immersion but only seeking more time to implement it in a phased manner. “That’s not really our stand. We will just require some more time,” he added.

The court was hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by Thane resident Rohit Joshi seeking enforcement of the Central Pollution Control Board’s guidelines prohibiting the manufacture and immersion of PoP idols because of their environmental impact.

In July 2025, the high court permitted all Ganesh idols, including PoP idols, up to six feet tall to be immersed only in artificial ponds after the state informed the court that it had already made artificial-pond immersion mandatory for smaller idols that are up to five feet tall.