BJP leader writes to Prakash Javadekar on CPCB's ban on plastic, thermocol in idol making

BJP MLA Ashish Shelar on Monday wrote a letter to Union Minister Prakash Javadekar regarding the ban on use of Plaster of Paris for idol making. The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has banned the use of plastic, thermocol and plaster of Paris in making idols of gods and goddesses.

Shelar in his letter mentioned that the sudden decision will lead to huge financial losses, as rural artisans have already invested crores of rupees in purchasing material and are busy preparing for the upcoming Ganpati, Durga puja festivals. This ban will negatively impact the lakhs of rural artisans. In view of the Coronavirus crisis and worsened economic condition, he requested Javadekar to suspend the decision for the next twelve months.

Furthermore, he urged the Environment Ministry to fund an initiative with any of the IIT's, CSIR research laboratories, NCL, Pune for research and development of sustainable, cost-effective materials which can be made available to idol makers.

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CPCB bans plastic, plaster of Paris, thermocol to make idols

In a bid to ensure idol immersion in an eco-friendly manner in the country, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has banned the use of plastic, thermocol and plaster of Paris in making idols of gods and goddesses. The CPCB has revised its 2010 guidelines on idol immersion after taking views of stakeholders, especially emphasising use of naturally occurring clay, colours in place of synthetic paints and chemicals for colouring idols.

It said that the use of single-use plastic and thermocol shall not be permitted at all and only eco-friendly material such as straw structures shall be used in making idols or decoration of idols/pandals/tazias in order to prevent pollution in recipient water bodies.

"Idols made up of only natural, bio-degradable, eco-friendly raw material without any toxic, inorganic raw material [such as traditional virtuous clay and mud as well as free from plaster of Paris, plastic and thermocol (polystyrene) should be encouraged, allowed and promoted, and idols made up of plaster of Paris (PoP) shall be banned.

"Only dried flower components for making ornaments of idols and natural resins of trees may be used as a shining material for making idols attractive," the apex pollution control body said in its revised guidelines issued on Tuesday.

Every year, the water bodies in the country get highly polluted after idol immersion during festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi and Durga Pooja as the idols are made up of inorganic and toxic material instead of traditional eco-friendly mud and clay. The guidelines formulated by the CPCB in the past have gone largely unheeded as the water quality continued to go down after these festivals. The revised guidelines have now prohibited the use of toxic and non-biodegradable chemical dyes/oil paints for painting idols as well.

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