Mumbai: Chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday held a stakeholders’ meeting to consider PM Narendra Modi’s appeal to use clay idols during the Ganesh festival.Hitesh Jadhav, president of Akhil Sarvajanik Utsav Samiti, Maharashtra, said they have submitted a list of suggestions to the government. He said the Samiti has urged the government not to ban plaster of Paris (PoP) idols outright, rather to insist on the use of eco-friendly paints for the idols. They have also asked the government to make the restriction on height of the Sarvajanik Ganesh idol voluntary.Jadhav said the maximum height of a Ganesh idol in Maharashtra is around 30 feet. “There is not enough clay to cater to the demand across the state. Further, the use of artificial immersion ponds ensure that the PoP idols are not immersed in the sea,” he said. “In Navi Mumbai the recycled PoP was used to make study desks and this was distributed to students two months ago by deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde.”The meeting was held at the chief minister’s residence and was attended by state cultural affairs minister Ashish Shelar, deputy chairperson of the legislative council Sachin Ahir and senior officials.Sources said a core committee of the government will now meet in a couple of days and a report will be submitted to the Bombay High Court on Tuesday.A division bench of Justices AS Gadkari and Kamal Khata is hearing a PIL filed by Thane resident and activist Rohit Joshi, seeking implementation of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) guidelines prohibiting the manufacture and immersion of PoP Ganesha idols. The petition highlights the pollution caused to rivers, lakes and other natural water bodies because of the immersion of PoP idols.
