Bombay HC judgement to bring down noise levels during festive season

According to the Noise Pollution Rules, industrial areas have to restrict their decibel level to 75 db during the day and 70 db at night while residential areas have to restrict it to 55 db during the day and 45 db at night, among others.

Advocate of Bombay High Court and Supreme Court of India, Satya Mulay, who represented the petitioner, Akhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat, tells The Indian Express, “What does the maximum permissible noise of 55 decibel, at day time in residential areas, mean? A sound level of 55 decibel is what is created by a residential refrigerator. In silent zones, such as educational institutions, temples, religious places or hospitals, the maximum permissible sound is 40db at night and 50 db during the day.”

He adds that, during Ganeshotsav in Pune city last year, the average decibel level touched 101.3 during the day and 113.1 around 8 pm. “To understand how serious this is, we can compare the sound to that created by an aircraft at the time of taking off, which is 140 db. That we are enjoying our festivals at approximately 100 db is extremely hazardous. Extremely high decibels of noise pollution are emitted by DJs playing music,” says Mulay. He added that people had lost their lives and more than 100 had suffered a loss of hearing.

The Bombay High Court has stated in paragraph VII that “a citizen shall be entitled to lodge an oral complaint about the breach of Noise Pollution Rules or Loudspeaker Rules”. The court has directed the police to take immediate action if a complaint is received orally. “The state government shall direct that the identity of complainants shall not be disclosed to the wrongdoers or any other person… On receiving a complaint, a police officer must immediately visit the spot and stop illegal use of public address systems, loudspeakers or musical instruments,” the bench remarked.