The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has taken an important decision to make next year's Ganesh Chaturthi (ganeshotsav) eco-friendly. For this Ganesh Chaturthi, the civic body has decided to provide free of cost Shadu mud and space for setting up pandals to the sculptors.
The municipal administration made this announcement in a meeting organised by the BMC for planning of the Ganesh Chaturthi 2025. However, in response to this, the sculptors said that only the promise of providing shadu (clay) is not enough for an eco-friendly Ganesh Chaturthi.
The sculptors' association has also expressed the opinion that the politics on this issue should be stopped without shirking responsibility by providing clay.
The Central Pollution Control Board had banned Plaster of Paris (POP) idols in 2020. However, the implementation of this decision was delayed due to various reasons.
Although it has been four years since the ban on POP, other mechanisms including the state government have failed to persuade public bodies and sculptors to stop using POP. The High Court has repeatedly criticised the role of the municipal corporation and the state government.
Every year, the topic of POP ban is frequently discussed around Ganeshotsav. The municipality has already started planning to make next year's Ganeshotsav environmentally friendly. A preliminary meeting in this regard was held last week.
Representatives of Ganeshotsav Mandals and representatives of the Ganeshotsav Coordination Committee were present at this meeting. It was decided to conduct a meeting with the CPCB to provide a viable alternative to POP.
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