Goemkarponn Desk
PANAJI: The High Court of Bombay at Goa has ruled that the permission granted to Mumbai based Spacebound Web Labs Pvt. Ltd. in 2022 to hold Sunburn EDM Festival was illegal and liable to be quashed and set aside.
“It is declared that the permission dated 28.12.2022 issued to R-10 for holding the Sunburn music festival from 28th to 30th December 2022 was illegally issued and consequently, the said permission was illegal and liable to be quashed and set aside,” stated the Court order.
The Court asked the State Government to immediately constitute a Joint Special Cell comprising high- ranking officials from the police, the GSPCB, and the SDM/Collector which will ensure that the permissions are granted for such mega events in accordance with the notified Action Plan.
The court also asserted that the organisers of such mega events should scrupulously comply with the terms and conditions by which such permissions are granted.
In its order the Court also stressed the need for teaching civic sense to children at early age and adding of suitable chapters in text books over hazardous effects of Noise Pollution.
The Sunburn promoter company has been asked to pay costs of Rs 25,000 to the petitioner.
The High Court’s orders to set up a joint special cell came on the suggestion of the Chief Secretary who in his report before the Court earlier this year said the joint committee would be the preferred way forward after last year the GSPCB officials could not succeed in their attempts (to stop the event) due to a lack of coordination between the police officials and the GSPCB officials.
The Chief Secretary reported to the High Court that though the GSPCB informed the police about the higher than permitted noise levels, the police didn’t act because “they were busy in monitoring and managing the huge crowd and, therefore, could not control the noise levels.”