Months ahead of the Ganeshotsav, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has made it mandatory for all to use environment-friendly Ganesh idols at every household. The civic body has also announced a waiver on deposits for Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Pandals during the upcoming festival. Meanwhile, instructions for the provision of alloting free space for making eco-friendly Ganesh idols has also been issued to multiple departments in the BMC. This year, the Ganeshotsav is slated to commence on September 19. Issuing a ban on idols made of plaster of paris (PoP) at households, BMC announced that idols up to four-feet-high should be made of eco-friendly material such as clay. To ensure adequate supply of clay for idol makers across the city, the civic body will collect clay from several Maharashtra districts, and also give discounts for making a certain quantity of clay available at a fixed rate. In Maharashtra, clayey soil is predominantly found in the Konkan belt, besides other regions. Meanwhile, the immediate implementation of BMC's decision to waive deposits for Sarvajanik Ganeshotsav Pandals has also commenced. According to the civic body notice, deposits collected from the mandals in 2022 will be returned to the organisers within the next seven days.
