Chennai, Feb 24 (NationPress) The Madras High Court has rejected a writ petition aimed at stopping the Mahashivratri celebrations planned for the evening of February 26-27 at the Isha Yoga Centre located in Coimbatore district.

A Division Bench consisting of Justices S.M. Subramaniam and K. Rajasekar dismissed the petition put forth by S.T. Sivagnanam, a local landowner.

Sivagnanam expressed concerns regarding the anticipated attendance of around 700,000 individuals during the 2024 Mahashivratri, citing potential pollution issues.

During the proceedings, Additional Advocate General (AAG) J. Ravindran, representing the Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board (TNPCB), assured the court of monitoring ambient noise levels to ensure compliance with the permissible limit of 75 dB(A).

In a counter-affidavit, TNPCB Member Secretary R. Kannan mentioned that the yoga centre is equipped with four Sewage Treatment Plants (STPs) capable of handling a total of 1.725 million liters per day (MLD), which is adequate for the waste generated by around 6,000 residents and 5,000-10,000 daily visitors.

For the upcoming 2025 Mahashivratri celebrations, TNPCB recommended that the centre install temporary toilets to accommodate the larger crowd and utilize tanker lorries to transport excess sewage to the Coimbatore Corporation’s STP.

The centre has also been instructed to maintain a logbook for sewage transportation.

Based on an estimated generation of 12 liters of sewage per person, the TNPCB calculated that 60,000 attendees would generate 720 kilolitres (KL) of sewage, which the Coimbatore Corporation’s STP can manage, given its total treatment capacity of 70 MLD, though it is currently processing only 30 MLD.

The TNPCB further informed the court that an ambient noise level survey conducted during the 2024 celebrations at five different locations, including the petitioner's property, revealed noise levels remained within the allowed 75 dB(A) limit for non-planned areas.

A similar survey is set to be performed during the 2025 celebrations.

Senior counsel Satish Parasaran, representing the Isha Foundation, highlighted that the organizers do not utilize cone speakers and have put noise limiters in place to comply with regulated noise levels.

After considering all perspectives, the judges concluded that there was no reason to entertain the petition. They noted that a comparable writ petition filed by Sivagnanam ahead of the 2024 Mahashivratri festival is still pending before the High Court.

The Bench reaffirmed that while public interest is of utmost importance, adherence to the law is essential.

It reiterated that access to clean water, air, and noise pollution control are fundamental rights tied to the right to life, and the state bears the responsibility to protect these rights.

In dismissing the petition, the court stated that since the TNPCB confirmed the Isha Foundation’s compliance with pollution control standards during the 2024 celebrations, there was no reason for judicial intervention in the 2025 event based solely on apprehensive claims.