HC asks state how much equipment it needs to check noise level

The Bombay High Court today asked Maharashtra government to inform within two weeks how many equipment was required by the state to check noise pollution following which it would issue guidelines on measuring the decible level and how to conduct a random check during festivals.
The high court has sought this information from the government by December 23 on a petition filed by Mahesh Bedekar, a Thane resident.
Government Pleader Abhinandan Vagyani admitted that the state had not complied with its orders on noise pollution in the past but assured that in future it would follow the orders of the court in letter and spirit.

The high court noted that the equipment available with police stations was not used during festivals and said this was not proper.
The Government Pleader informed that every police station had at least one equipment to monitor noise pollution levels and said the requirement for such pieces was much more.
Justices Abhay Oka and Gautam Patel wanted to know if this was sufficient or whether more such equipment were needed to check noise pollution levels. The bench asked the government to inform about this within a week.

The high court also noted that during the recent Ganesh festival the authorities had not conducted noise pollution test to find out about violations.

The Judges cautioned the authorities and asked them to comply with the high court's orders on noise pollution levels during all the festivals.
Earlier, on going through affidavits filed by civic bodies in the state, the HC had noted that there was complete failure on the part of the authorities to take action in terms of noise pollution rules in the just-concluded festivals, such as Dahi-Handi and Ganesh festivals.
The court has asked the authorities to strictly implement the noise pollution control rules during all the festivals so that the public at large is not harassed and the high court orders in this regard are complied with.

The matter would be heard again on December 23.