A senior citizen has filed a writ petition in the Bombay High Court HC requesting the court to issue directions to the relevant authorities to ensure strict implementation of the Noise Pollution Rules, 2000, and to stop violations of these rules by mosques and slums in Wadala’s Antop Hill, such as the playing of loud music for longer than the permitted duration of time for the azaan.
On Wednesday, a division bench led by Acting Chief Justice Sanjay V. Gangapurwala and Justice Sandeep V. Marne heard a petition from retired marine engineer Mahendra Sapre, who said that he has been complaining to the authorities about noise pollution for a long time but no action was taken. He said that he had earlier complained about noise pollution to various authorities via email on November 11, 2022. He added that he has complained to the police over five hundred times, but no action was taken. As a result, he was compelled to file the petition with the court seeking directions to the authorities.
According to reports, 75-year-old Mahendra Sapre now resides at the Institute of Chemical Technology (ICT) at Matunga (East) campus with his wife after retiring from the Navy. His wife is a professor in Indian Chemicals Technology. There is a slum named Bengalipura in front of his building. The mosques and shrines in this slum, according to the ex-navy personnel, have more than 19 loudspeakers that were installed without authorization. The noise emanating from all of these is causing extreme distress. Sapre has clarified that his petition is only against noise pollution and is not directed against any religion or community.
Sapre’s lawyer, Prerak Choudhary, stated that his client had filed a complaint with the district magistrate and senior police officers regarding noise pollution emerging from the Bangalipura slum area. The complaint was also supported by faculty members and students from the ICT.
The petitioner approached the High Court after becoming annoyed at the reluctance of the relevant authorities to take action. The petition claimed that since the petitioner lives on the ICT campus, which is a silent zone, using loudspeakers for azaan constitutes noise pollution. The petition further alleges that Mumbai Police and Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation have failed to perform their duties in controlling noise pollution and failed to revoke permissions granted for loudspeakers.
“The use of loud music systems at illegal shamiyanas built near the Wadala railway track, at nighttime after 10 pm and beyond the prescribed noise level of 45 dB for nighttime in a residential area, is in gross violation of Noise Pollution Rules, requiring immediate action from the authorities concerned,” claimed the plea.
OpIndia checked petitioner Mahendra Sapre’s Twitter profile and found multiple tweets complaining about the noise pollution in the locality. In one such tweet posted in December last year, Sapre complained about the high-decibel music played at the shamiyanas built near Wadala railway track and wrote, “@RailMinIndia @PiyushGoyal @PMOIndia @crpfindia @RPFCRBB @RPFCR shamiyana on rail tracks, the bridge, kings circle to Wadala harbour line, ground tracks CR wadala gtb nagar location Bangalipura slum. This “regular” affair high dB music psychedelic lights/motorman safety?.”
@RailMinIndia @PiyushGoyal @PMOIndia @crpfindia @RPFCRBB @RPFCR shamiyana on rail tracks, the bridge,kingscircle to wadala harbour line,ground tracks CR wadala gtb nagar location bangalipura slum. This "regular" affair high dB music psychedelic lights/motorman safety? pic.twitter.com/cvp92lZrK7
— Mahendra Sapre (@mahendra_sapre) December 10, 2022
@AshwiniVaishnaw @AmitShah @DrMohanBhagwat torture? Between GTB Nagar and Wadala harbour line. Is this definition of secularism, outreach, democracy? Police least bothered, uneducated in implementing laws of the land. However this virus shouldn't reach lawmakers. pic.twitter.com/UYfOjobnmy
— Mahendra Sapre (@mahendra_sapre) January 29, 2023
Furthermore, Sapre alleged that the Mumbai Police and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation had neglected to carry out their duties to control pollution and to rescind permissions for loudspeakers. It further stated that the noise originating from the region in question exceeds the set decibel levels that are acceptable in silent zones.
@MumbaiPolice @CPMumbaiPolice @maharashtra_hmo CFS #31582365
— Mahendra Sapre (@mahendra_sapre) April 13, 2023
ICT under east matunga police station near Don Bosco high School pic.twitter.com/RdreaEO6uR
He also posted videos showing the decibel level of the loudspeakers displayed by a phone app.
Petitioner Sapre also asked for directions to the authorities to remove the loudspeakers from the slum, mosques, madrassas, etc. The next hearing for the plea will take place on June 12.
