Pune-based activist Vidyanand Bapat, who has led a sustained campaign against excessive noise in the city, has served a legal notice on senior police, civic and pollution control authorities, seeking stricter enforcement of noise pollution norms during Ganeshotsav and action against organisers violating prescribed limits.
The notice has been sent to Maharashtra director general of police Sadanand Date, Pune police commissioner Amitesh Kumar, Pune municipal commissioner Naval Kishore Ram and the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB). It seeks preventive measures to control noise, air and waste pollution, as well as traffic-related problems, during the festival.
Bapat has raised concerns over the use of DJs, high-powered loudspeakers and amplified sound systems during Ganeshotsav and sought strict enforcement of statutory provisions and directions issued by courts and the National Green Tribunal (NGT).
His intervention comes amid heightened debate over noise pollution in Pune after the city police announced that loudspeakers could be used until midnight on five days of this year’s Ganeshotsav — September 19, 20, 22, 23 and 25. On other festival days, sound systems must be switched off by 10pm. Police have also prescribed a limit of four bass and four top speakers for festival and public celebrations.
In the notice, Bapat argued that permission to hold religious or cultural celebrations does not allow organisers to disregard statutory noise limits. He sought strict monitoring of sound levels and immediate action wherever violations are detected.
{{/usCountry}}In the notice, Bapat argued that permission to hold religious or cultural celebrations does not allow organisers to disregard statutory noise limits. He sought strict monitoring of sound levels and immediate action wherever violations are detected.
{{/usCountry}}The notice refers to the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules, 2000, and judicial directions requiring authorities to “enforce prescribed ambient noise standards”. It also cites directions of the Bombay High Court in Dr Mahesh Vijay Bedekar v State of Maharashtra, requiring authorities “to act on noise pollution complaints and empowering police to stop the illegal use of loudspeakers and public-address systems.”
Bapat has also cited the NGT’s August 30, 2024 order in Dr Kalyani Mandke v State of Maharashtra, which directed authorities to take several measures to control noise during Ganesh festival celebrations in Pune, including real-time monitoring near Ganesh mandals and along immersion routes.
The tribunal had directed the police, in consultation with the MPCB, to determine permissible loudspeaker capacity for each Ganesh mandal based on its location, including proximity to schools, hospitals and residential areas.
The order had further called for restrictions on DJs and certain high-noise instruments during immersion processions.
Bapat maintained that his campaign was not against Ganeshotsav or religious celebrations, but against excessive noise and violations of legally prescribed limits.
The notice calls upon the authorities to take preventive measures before the festival and ensure effective implementation of existing legal and judicial directions.