SC stays NGT order limiting dhol-tasha troupes to 30 for Ganesh Visarjan
Supreme Court on Thursday stayed an order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) restricting dhol-Tasha group members to 30 during the Ganesh Visarjan celebrations in Pune next week
PUNE The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed an order of the National Green Tribunal (NGT) restricting dhol-Tasha group members to 30 during the Ganesh Visarjan celebrations in Pune next week.

The order was passed by a bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud on an urgent mentioning by dhol-tasha performers jointly represented by Yuva Vadya Pathak Trust based in Pune.
The petition sought stay of the August 30 order of the NGT, Western Zone claiming that they were not heard. Further, it was argued that the tribunal was dealing with the noise pollution caused by use of loudspeakers during Ganesh Mahotsav and not even the petition being considered by the tribunal suggested to restrict dhol-tasha members to 30.
The NGT order said, “Police department to ensure that the total number of Dhol-Tasha-Zanj members in each troupe during Visarjan procession shall not exceed 30 in number.”
It further directed the police to seize loudspeakers, sound system, dhol, tasha, zanj units and take action under law against persons who violate the order.
Advocate Amit Pai appearing for the petitioner trust said that Pune has a deep cultural significance with Ganesh festival after Lokmanya Tilak started it in the city. He said that the NGT order largely dealt with the ill-effects of speakers used during Visarjan and had nothing to do with restricting dhol-tasha members. The order had seriously impacted the dhol-tasha performers and dampened the Visarjan festivities in the city.
Pai had mentioned the petition for urgent listing before CJI, who directed the matter to be taken up at 2 pm when the order was passed. Following the order, CJI said, “It is the heart of Pune. Let them do their dhol-tasha.”
The trust informed the court that they were not aware of the NGT order till they received a communication from the police department on September 10 to have groups of 30 members.
While the NGT order restricted the total capacity of loudspeakers to be used at a Ganesh pandal (tent) to 100 W (for pandal size less than 40 metre in length), there was no discussion as regards noise pollution caused by dhol-tasha groups.
The petition further stated that the NGT was supposed to hear them and determine whether dhol-tasha causes noise pollution. Without doing such exercise, a restriction of 30 was imposed without giving reasons.
The NGT was hearing a petition by one Kalyani Mandke who flagged the issue of noise pollution during the Ganesh Mahotsav festival that begins from September 7 and continues for a period of 10 days. Her petition did not seek restricting dhol-tasha members.
The order of August 30 further instructed the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) to carry out real-time noise monitoring at minimum three locations near Ganpati pandals and display readings and standard limits with health warning messages at two prominent spots at these places.
