What have you done to curb noise pollution, HC asks govt

MUMBAI: The Bombay high court on Tuesday directed the principal secretary of Maharashtra’s home department and the director-general of police to file an affidavit detailing the steps taken to comply with the high court’s directions regarding illegal loudspeakers. A bench of Chief Justice Devendra Upadhyaya and Justice Amit Borkar was hearing a contempt petition filed by Navi Mumbai resident Santosh Pachlag, alleging non-compliance with the high court’s directives against loudspeakers issued in August 2016.

Pachlag’s advocate, Deendayal Dhanure, told the court that the government was aware of at least 2,940 illegal loudspeakers based on the government’s response to an RTI application by Pachlag in 2019. He added that nearly 37 directions were earlier issued by the court in a 2016 judgement dealing with noise pollution.

The court had in 2016 observed that it was the duty of local authorities to curb noise pollution as a parameter of quality of life while planning developmental activity or carrying out planning functions. It added that noise-mapping data could immensely help in carrying out the function.

The August 2016 judgement had observed that there were provisions to send violators of the Noise Pollution Rules to jail for five years (seven years in case of continuous contravention) or fine them up to ₹1 lakh. The court noted that there was a lack of enforcement of the said provisions.

The court in its 2016 judgment also recalled the committee headed by Justice Sujata Manohar which had detailed various health hazards caused by the use of loudspeakers. The Supreme Court had observed that noise can disturb sleep, communication, damage hearing and evoke other gynaecological and pathological reactions.

The court had earlier said that the police commissioner, deputy police commissioner and assistant police commissioners were the authority under the Noise Rules. If the noise level exceeded the ambient noise standard by 10 decibels, a person could make a complaint to the authority and the latter was bound to take action against the violator.

The authority can also act on the basis of the report filed by an officer in charge of the police station. District magistrates, chairpersons, member secretaries, and regional officers of the state pollution control board can initiate criminal proceedings for contravention of the rules. “Citizens have a fundamental right (implicit in the right to freedom of speech, which implies freedom to not listen) to protect themselves from becoming forced audiences,” it had observed.

The court had also pulled up the government for its inaction in procuring noise meters to measure decibel levels. The government pleader in January 2016, during the hearing of the PIL, had said that the requirement of the state was 1,843 meters. A period of three months from January 2016 was granted to procure the meters but the state government failed to procure them.

The high court had also pointed out that a noise map of the city had not been made for years despite the fact that planning authority MMRDA had invited tenders for this. A noise map is a map of the city with details of silence zones, residential zones, high-construction areas etc to serve as a base for planning and development of the city. The court had pointed out that except for Sahar Airport, this exercise was not conducted anywhere else.