This situation coming out from Bombay High Court is honestly quite frustrating to read about . Government was already given one full year to phase out Plaster of Paris idols and now they are back asking for more time . And that too while environmental damage keeps happening in background .
During hearing on July 16,Justices Ajey Gadkari and Kamal Khata made their feelings very clear . They pointed out that both state government and PoP idol manufacturers already received one-year extension last year to transition toward clay idols . bench was direct — "You were given a one-year notice,so you should have stopped it. That is exactly what the guidelines state."
Not small thing to say from a bench in open court.
Context here is important . Central Pollution Control Board had issued clear guidelines back in 2020 . Court itself gave directives in 2025 . Everyone involved — government,manufacturers,local authorities — knew exactly what was coming . And yet here we are,still debating whether transition is even practical.
Few key things standing out from this hearing:
- State government reported decrease in idols taller than six feet,showing at least some compliance happening on ground.
- Pilot project for collecting and recycling PoP material post-immersion is currently being conducted by state.
- Court stressed that public mindset toward environmental protection must change,pointing to practices observed in other countries.
Advocate General Milind Sathe defended current policy by explaining that only idols above six feet are allowed immersion in natural water bodies right now,while smaller ones must go into artificial ponds . State is apparently also exploring ways to recycle PoP material . Fine,but these feel like half-measures at this point.
On other side,Advocate Uday Warunjikar representing idol manufacturers argued for extension of one to two years,saying immediate switch without public mindset shift is simply not practical . And honestly,that argument would have felt more convincing if industry had used last extension properly.
Advocate Mihir Desai,representing environmentalist Rohit Joshi who originally filed petitions pushing for stricter enforcement,pointed out that court has been giving directives since 2013 . And implementation is still insufficient . That is over a decade of slow movement on something with direct impact on rivers and water bodies.
What makes this uncomfortable is that clay idols were actually tradition for long time before PoP took over — largely because of cost . So this is not even asking people to adopt something completely new . It is more like returning to what existed before cheaper alternatives changed habits .
Court warned clearly that further delay could lead to irreversible damage to natural resources . Irreversible is a serious word to use . Once certain environmental harm happens,no amount of extensions or pilot projects can undo it .
Hearing is set to continue and court is trying to balance environmental protection with concerns of manufacturers . But somewhere between all these extensions,affidavits and appeals… the water bodies keep receiving whatever gets immersed in them every year . And that part of equation seems to keep getting pushed to background in all these discussions.
