The Bombay High Court on Tuesday granted permission to hold New Year celebrations in the silent zone of 100 years, Shivaji Park Gymkhana.
A division bench of acting Chief Justice V M Kanade and Justice Revati Mohite-dere allowed Christmas and New Year celebrations at the Gymkhana to raise funds to provide cricket training to 50 children.
While granting permission, the court said since the park is a silent zone, noise pollution rules will have to be abided with. The court said loudspeakers and amplifiers should not be used and distributed sound system should be used instead.
The court was hearing the petition filed by the Gymkhana after the local police station had rejected their permission to hold the party for children.
The advocate appearing for Wecom Trust, an NGO opposed to functions on the ground stating violation of noise pollution rules cited by the apex court, said the Supreme Court had laid down that relaxation in noise pollution rules cannot be allowed in a silent zone and that the Gymkhana wants to hold parties in the garb of cricket training.
The Gymkhana on the other hand had argued that 50 students were short-listed out of 500 and that it had opened a cricket academy to train these students free of cost under the guidance of former cricketer Sandeep Patil. The court also ordered that the Gymkhana should ensure that the decibel level is maintained in accordance with the Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules 2000. Also, tin sheets should be erected so that they will act as a sound barrier and also for security.
The Gymkhana will give an undertaking not to use amplifiers or DJs on the open ground of the park’s premises.
On hearing similar applications, the High Court had earlier allowed Shiv Sena to hold Dusshera rally in the same ground subject to same conditions.
Anti-noise pollution activist Sumaira Abdulali, founder of Awaaz Foundation, said, “This permission has been granted even for Dussehra rallies in the last so many years with the same conditions. Since last four court orders, noise pollution rules have been violated. We have measured the decibel levels every year and realised the conditions are not met. The court must really take cognisance of this.”
