Pune Ganapati Visarjan:  The Supreme Court on Thursday issued an interim stay on the National Green Tribunal's (NGT) ruling that limited each 'Dhol-Tasha-Zanj' troupe to 30 members for the Ganpati Visarjan Procession in Pune. The Supreme Court's judgment emphasised the considerable impact this limitation may have on cultural practice and issued a notice for a further examination of the case.

Several measures have been put in place by the NGT to reduce noise pollution, such as limiting the number of participants in each 'Dhol-Tasha-Zanj' group to thirty and requiring real-time noise monitoring near every Ganesh pandal.

The NGT's order also threatened criminal charges against anybody who disobeyed these rules. While other parts of the NGT's ruling remain in effect, the Supreme Court's temporary stay explicitly concerns the group size restriction.

In his remarks about the stay, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud stressed the cultural significance of the "Dhol-Tasha" performances, saying, "Let them do 'dhol-tasha'; it is the heart of Pune."

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The Court intervened after Advocate Amit Pai, representing the petitioner, raised the profound cultural significance of the Ganesh celebration in Pune, voiced concerns about the particular limitation, and acknowledged the necessity of noise control measures.

Chief Justice Chandrachud, Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra consented to hearing the appeal against the NGT's ruling. With Ganesh Visarjan nearing, the CJI directed the lawyer to submit the required documents to the Court for fast consideration.

In an effort to control noise pollution during Ganesh Chaturthi, which started on September 7 and would conclude with the idol immersion in the next few days, the NGT placed the limit. 'Dhol-Tasha' groups are traditionally very important to Maharashtra's celebrations.