Who Can Regulate PoP Idol Immersion If CPCB Guidelines Are Only Advisory?: Bombay HC Questions Legal

Bombay High Court questioned who is the competent authority to regulate PoP idol immersion if CPCB 2020 guidelines are only advisory.

CPCB advocate Abhinandan Vagyani stated guidelines address immersion only, not manufacture or sale, and were issued per court directions, not statutory provisions.

PoP idol manufacturers argued guidelines do not ban manufacture or sale and said they would comply with local body directives on artificial ponds.

Environmentalist Rohit Joshi's advocates argued CPCB guidelines were previously treated as binding and that PoP does not dissolve, polluting natural water bodies.

Maharashtra government sought court permission to continue allowing immersion of PoP idols above six feet on a pilot basis, collecting and reusing the material.