Mumbai: State govt on Tuesday told Bombay high court it is not possible to implement Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to use clay for making idols for the upcoming Ganesh festival.“We will implement it next year. How can it be stopped today? PoP idols are already made,” advocate general Milind Sathe told Justices Ajey Gadkari and Kamal Khata. The festival begins on Sept 14. HC had sought the state’s stand on PM’s July 26 appeal during his Mann ki Baat radio programme.HC is hearing a PIL to implement Central Pollution Control Board’s May 2020 revised guidelines that ban plaster of Paris (PoP) idols. Last year, after CPCB clarified the guidelines are “advisory in nature,” HC on July 24, 2025, allowed over 6-ft idols to be immersed in natural water bodies such as rivers and seas as per the state’s immersion policy.Sathe said a meeting was held on July 31 that included stakeholders to consider the PM’s appeal. He said as the festival is hardly 40 days away, it was decided to follow HC’s July 2025 order. “We will ensure 100% removal of residue within 24 hours… Allow us to go forward as per the 2025 policy,” said Sathe. He also said “from this year, we’ll ensure idols are not made of PoP or such idols don’t go into natural water.”Advocate Ronita Bhattacharya Bector, for the PIL petitioners, pointed out that HC’s order said its directions shall apply for festivals till March 2026. Sathe said, “Today there is no ban on PoP.” Justice Gadkari asked, “Have you informed the PM’s office that you can’t do it?” Sathe replied, “Why would we be doing that? We have accepted the appeal and will implement it. What else can we say? Immediate implementation cannot be done for this festival.” Justice Gadkari said, “You are the state. You have to see the welfare of your people.” But Sathe said, “It can’t be done in one day.”He said the state is committed to preventing water pollution. PoP immersions will be stopped in a “phased manner so that PoP idols will ultimately stop being made.” The judges said the state was “put to notice for years.” Sathe said in 2025 there were 31,000 PoP idols out of 28 lakh idols in Maharashtra, adding, “We will try to ensure the number going to natural water bodies goes down.” The final hearing will continue on Wednesday.
