The Madras High Court on Wednesday laid down elaborate guidelines on conducting Vinayaka Chaturthi celebrations in public places in the city and directed the authorities to ensure that the idols installed temporarily by various organisations were made of clay and not of polluting materials such as Plaster of Paris.
Disposing of two public interest litigation petitions, the First Division Bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice M. Sundar ordered that there should be a complete ban on sound emitting fire crackers between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.
The organisers should also avoid using inflammable materials for construction of structures to house the idols.
Stating that the entrance and exit to the structures should be wide enough and that the noise level should not exceed the prescribed limits at any time, the judges said: “It is needless to mention that no idol can be installed except with prior permission from the Commissioner of Police and in compliance with the conditions imposed by the officer.”
The Bench made it clear that the approval of Fire and Rescue Services Department was also essential and recorded Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation’s (Tangedco) submission that it had put in place an effective system to monitor power theft by those who instal idols on roadsides during the celebrations.
Holding that the regulations imposed by it should be followed for the celebrations this year, the court asked the State government to frame elaborate guidelines to be followed for temporary installation of idols in public places in future.
Such guidelines should be enforced strictly by the authorities concerned, it added.
During the course of arguments, Additional Advocate General C. Manishankar produced a copy of an order passed by Commissioner of Police A.K. Viswanathan on August 22 to regulate the celebrations by exercising the powers conferred on him under Section 41 of the Tamil Nadu City Police Act of 1888.
The Commissioner’s order stated that consent of the land owner, including the Chennai Corporation and other local bodies, should be obtained for installing idols which should be made purely of clay. It was also ordered that the height of the idols should not exceed 10 feet including the base and the dais.
The officer added that the idols should not be installed near mosques, churches, hospitals, thickly populated areas and so on. “Music programmes/slogans inciting sentiments of other religions should be avoided. Similarly, bursting of crackers at the place of installation, which will cause noise pollution, should also be avoided,” his order read.
