"State government's advocate on record R K Adsure has informed me of the following SC ruling on Monday, the state government can continue to act upon a government resolution of April 7, 2003, giving relaxation of up to two hours on the notified 15 days in a calendar year, till further orders are passed by the apex court," Deputy Chief Minister R R Patil told reporters in Mumbai.
SC lifts noise ban from Gujarat's Garba
The notified days where relaxation is permitted include Ganesh festival (three days), Navratri (two days), Christmas, New Year's eve, Diwali (two days), Id-e-Milad, Shiv Jayanti, Ambedkar Jayanti and three other days as decided by the government following demand by local people. Accordingly, relaxation would be allowed during three Navratri nights, Patil said.
Asked if the government would withdraw cases filed against some Ganesh mandals for violating the noise pollution norms stipulated by the SC, during the recent Ganesh festival, Patil said, "The SC order has come on Monday. At that time, the guidelines were being implemented. We will have to study the legal ramifications before taking any decision to this effect".
The Supreme Court on Monday, agreed with Gujarat government's contention that while banning the use of loudspeakers between 10 PM to 6 AM, it had not dealt with the provision that allows states to relax the ban for two hours between 10 PM to midnight.