On Monday, the Bombay High Court instructed the Aarey monitoring committee of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to assess whether there are an adequate number of artificial ponds and mobile tanks for the ongoing Ganpati Visarjan, which is the immersion of Ganesha idols as part of the Ganesh Chaturthi festivities.

The bench consisting of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and Justice Arif S Doctor clarified that their intention was not to offend anyone's religious sentiments but rather to safeguard the environment.

The court noted that these are matters that should be evaluated by experts. The determination of what would be sufficient, whether it's one artificial pond or six, or one truck-mounted tank or ten, will be left to the monitoring committee. The court stated that it would request the committee to carefully consider and make an appropriate decision. If the existing arrangements are deemed adequate, that would be acceptable. However, if they are found to be insufficient, the court emphasized that alternative arrangements can be explored.

During the hearing, the Court was addressing a plea filed by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP). The VHP had requested the establishment of additional artificial ponds in Aarey, as currently, there is only one such pond in the area.

Senior Advocate Anil Singh, representing the VHP, made it clear that their request was not for the immersion of idols in a natural lake. He emphasized that last year, there were seven artificial ponds available for idol immersion, whereas this year, only one has been set up in the area.

The non-governmental organization (NGO) Vanashakti informed the Court that just two days ago, the artificial pond was utilized for the idol immersion process without encountering any problems.

The court noted that the VHP's argument was that having only one artificial pond was insufficient. In light of the fact that there were no problems during the idol immersion two days ago, the Court questioned why additional artificial ponds could not be established to address this concern.

The BMC subsequently informed the Court that in addition to the existing artificial pond, they had also provided six truck-mounted tanks for the idol immersion process.

The Court, recognizing the complexity of the issue, decided that it needed the expertise of relevant authorities. Consequently, the Court directed the Aarey committee to thoroughly evaluate the situation and make an informed decision on the matter.