Bombay High Court urges celebrities to champion Mumbai pollution awareness

The Bombay High Court urged celebrities and influencers to voluntarily promote pollution awareness in Mumbai. The appeal underscores the need for coordinated enforcement and environmentally responsible festival celebrations.Stock photo used for illustrationMumbai,Oct 26, 2026 20:30 ISTThe Bombay High Court on Monday stressed the need for Mumbai residents to have clean air and urged celebrities and social media influencers to voluntarily help raise public awareness about air and noise pollution, news agency Press Trust of India reported.A bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Neela Gokhale said that although authorities had initially delayed implementing the court's earlier directions to curb pollution, effective measures appeared to have been taken ahead of Diwali.“The wheels of the official machinery turned too slowly for compliance. Mumbaikars must have fresh and good air to breathe,” the court said.The High Court was hearing a group of petitions concerning the city's deteriorating air quality and noise pollution during festivals. Expressing concern over increasing toxicity and haze, the bench clarified that it was not opposed to festivals but wanted them to be celebrated responsibly. “We have absolutely nothing against festivals being celebrated. We just feel people should have a sense of responsibility to the environment,” it said.At the previous hearing, the court had asked the authorities to consider involving celebrities and social media influencers in public awareness campaigns. Additional government pleader Jyoti Chavan told the bench on Monday that involving celebrities at “high costs” would be difficult as the expense would have to be met from the public exchequer, PTI reported. The bench said it was “at pains” to hear this as it had expected celebrities “to have a sense of belonging and they would come forward voluntarily”.The court also raised concerns about the enforcement of noise pollution rules in the city's slum areas, where the use of firecrackers and loudspeakers often goes unchecked. It directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation commissioner, Maharashtra Pollution Control Board chief and Mumbai police commissioner to coordinate with the chief executive officer of the Slum Rehabilitation Authority and local municipal corporators to improve awareness and enforcement at the grassroots level.The matter will be heard again on November 25, with the court reiterating the need for coordinated enforcement and responsible celebrations to protect Mumbai's air quality and control noise pollution.- Ends