Mumbai: While the Maharashtra government and Plaster of Paris (PoP) Ganesha makers are caught in a stalemate over the legality of the idols, the 98-year-old Girgaoncha Raja pandal at Nikadwari Lane has shown that the festival can be celebrated without violating pollution control rules.
The Girgaon mandal will inaugurate this year’s celebrations on Gudi Padwa on Sunday with a ‘Shadu Mati Pujan Sohala’. The ritual marks the start of the idol’s creation for the festival in August-September. Shadu mati is the clay that the government has suggested as a substitute for PoP, which can cause environmental damage to water bodies used for immersing the idols.
The Girgaon pandal was established in 1928 with a one-foot-tall idol made of clay. Around 1982-83, the idol’s height was increased to 18 feet as Ganeshas across the city grew. In 2024, the 21-foot idol weighing 3,500kg from clay, bamboo, grass, and other natural materials was certified as the tallest idol sculpted from shadu mati by the World Records Book of India, a keeper of Indian records.
The pandal is proud of its nearly one-century-old tradition of environmentally safer festivals. “There are difficulties in creating and immersing tall clay idols. It takes us 65 days to create the idol. The idol is made at the pandal site. That is the reason why we organise the puja so early. Also, the mechanism and trolley used for immersing clay idols are different,” said Ganesh Lingayat, secretary of Nikadwari Lane Sarvajanik Shrine Ganeshotsav Mandal.
Environmentalist Rohit Joshi, petitioner in Public Interest Litigation seeking strict implementation of the 2020 Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) guidelines against immersion of PoP idols in natural water bodies, said that there are many examples of sarvajanik mandals that have abandoned PoP and switched to clay idols.
Many mandals are waiting for the end of the legal deadlock to start planning for the festival. Nayan Dumre, secretary of the Fortcha Raja Sarvajanik Utsav Mandal, said they contacted sculptors of clay. “I do not agree with the argument that PoP is harmful to the environment. There has been a trend for tall idols since the 1990s. The festival is in the rainy season, and mandals are worried about the stability of clay idols. However, we will look at options after the court hearings,” said Dumre.
Lingayat agreed that Ganeshas, which are 30 to 40 feet tall, are difficult to sculpt in clay. “The tall idols are one of the attractions of Mumbai’s world-famous Ganeshotsav festival. Also, I do not think there is any conclusive proof that PoP idols are not eco-friendly,” said Lingayat.
Joshi dismissed the claims that tall idols cannot be sculpted with clay. “This is a fake narrative that is being passed around. A sculptor can create an idol out of any material. The idol manufacturers are spreading the propaganda because PoP idols are cheap, easier to make, and give higher profit margins,” said Joshi.
