Hyderabad:The Telangana High Court clarified on Thursday that there is no ban on the manufacture and sale of POP (plaster of Paris)idols of deities, for Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Puja since the state government has not issued a government order banning or prohibiting the same. The artisans heaved a sigh of relief as the Telangana High Court stated that no order can be passed to harm the employment of the manufacturers and by not restricting the POP idols.
However, the court reiterated that the POP idols should not be immersed in Hussainsagar, but should be immersed in the artificial water ponds set up by the GHMC and arrangements should be made for immediate disposal of the idols. The final guidelines issued by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) will be decided in the final hearing.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Ujjal Bhuyan and Justice S. Nanda on Thursday heard the petitions filed by several people including the Telangana Ganesh Murthy Kalakar Welfare Association challenging the CPCB guidelines. The case pertains to a petition filed by artisan bodies against guidelines issued by the central pollution control board, banning the use of PoP in idols.
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Advocate MV Durgaprasad, appearing for the petitioners, said that the CPCB had not done a scientific study on the matter of POP being a pollutant. He mentioned that the Supreme Court order was only for one year. The High Court said that according to the Supreme Court guidelines immersion of PoP idols in lakes will not be allowed and instructed the state to create baby ponds in advance for immersing such idols.
However, the Telangana HC stated that the Telangana government should issue guidelines on alternative arrangements for immersing Ganesh idols made of PoP and other materials since the immersion is opposed to Hussainsagar and other lakes by August 31, before the event of the Ganesh Chaturthi.
Government Advocate P.Radhiv Reddy intervened and sought an order to at least reduce the size of the idols, but the High Court adjourned the hearing till September. The high court's interim order on Thursday that allowed the manufacturers of Ganesha POP idols before Ganesh Chaturthi has filled idol makers with joy. The GHMC officials were disappointed and are working on alternative modes of Ganesha immersion.
The GHMC officials conducted awareness meetings for three months. They encouraged artisans towards making clay idols. GHMC put up tenders for setting up 50 artificial ponds plus two more at the rate of 8 per zone for immersion. A model of 28 artificial ponds constructed in Bangalore is also being prepared in the city.
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Last year, according to the guidelines of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), the High Court ruled that there should be no POP idols. Recently, the manufacturers approached the High Court saying that there is no scientific basis for that argument. GHMC thought that last year's directives would be implemented and this year it decided to avoid immersion in the ponds.
Engineers said that with the latest order of the High Court, they have to set up ponds as well. It has been revealed that as the court has said, the colored idols will not be immersed in Hussainsagar and the alternative of diverting the respective idols to the ponds will be decided soon by the GHMC officials.
