Goa seems destined to lurch from crisis to crisis. As the imminent death of Mhadei stares us in the face, noise pollution is set to deliver a death blow to night life, both religious and secular. We have grown up with our nights lighted up with unrestricted fireworks; for Christmas and New Year for Diwali and Shigmo; with music and song after midnight mass for Christmas and New Year, for Ganesh immersions and village Zatras. It is all these traditions that coalesce together to make Goa so attractive and desirable to the outside world.
The obstacle to normal celebrations, as I hear many say is an order of the High Court. But the reality is otherwise. The Courts rarely ban anything, per se. The role of the Courts is to interpret and enforce laws and regulations framed by the State. And that is what the High Court has done. The culprit is actually The Noise Pollution (Regulation and Control) Rules 2000. These Rules were notified on Valentine’s Day 2000 and have been in force since, though not effectively implemented.
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The regulations provide:
A loud speaker or a public address system shall not be used except after obtaining written permission from the authority.
A loud speaker or a public address system shall not be used at night (between 10 pm and 6 am) except in closed premises for communication within, e.g. auditoria, conference rooms, community halls and banquet halls.
Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-rule (2), the State Government may subject to such terms and conditions as are necessary to reduce noise pollution, permit use of loud speakers or public address systems during night hours (between 10 pm and 12 midnight) on or during any cultural or religious festive occasion of a limited duration not exceeding fifteen days in all during a calendar year.
The logic behind the Rules:
Noise pollution, also known as environmental noise or sound pollution, is the propagation of noise with ranging impacts on the activity of human or animal life, most of them harmful to a degree. It is generally defined as regular exposure to elevated sound levels that may lead to adverse effects in humans or other living organisms. The source of outdoor noise worldwide is mainly caused by machines, transport, and propagation systems.
Poor urban planning may give rise to noise disintegration or pollution, side-by-side industrial and residential buildings can result in noise pollution in the residential areas. Some of the main sources of noise in residential areas include loud music, transportation (traffic, rail, airplanes, etc.), maintenance, construction, electrical generators, wind turbines, explosions, and people etc.
Sounds with a frequency over 70 db are considered harmful to health. The World Health Organization (WHO) had recommended a 55 db standard for residential areas in the 1999 guidelines, while for traffic and business sectors, the limit was 70 db. The WHO set the limit of noise pollution on the road at 53 db in 2018, taking into account health safety.
High levels of noise pollution affect human health and well-being by having an effect on sleep, and has a bad effect on the communication of many animal species living in the area and their ability to hear. Regular exposure for eight hours a day to 85 decibels of sound can permanently eliminate the ability to hear. Not only that, exposure to relatively low noise pollution for long periods in cities can harm physical and mental health.
Strangely the authorities only enforce the law, if at all, against public functions, privately organised. There are thousands of people not excluding myself, who live close to the railway tracks. The noise generated by moving trains is enough to raise the dead. If noise is the issue why are trains and aeroplanes permitted to violate the rules? Why are railways not required to use modern technology to eliminate or at least reduce such noise? Is music no matter how loud, not less harsh and jarring than the noise of a train or a plane?
Our own continuing experience is that bans do not eliminate or even reduce the hazards, against which, the laws are directed. On the contrary, such bans provide a lucrative route to the enforcement authorities, to rake in the moolah. Considering that bullfights have been banned, how many villages exist where bullfights do not regularly take place? Or take matka which too has been banned. Is there any place where matka bets are not openly collected and the winning numbers publicly displayed? And now, a ban on loud music after ten pm. Murmurs can be heard, that rates have been worked out to informally permit loud music beyond the prescribed time limit. All these violations take place, mostly because of connivance between enforcement officials and the violators.
Sadly the High Court treats the violations lightly with little or no action against erring officers. The affidavits filed on behalf of the government are usually accepted by the High Court at face value, even though the situation on the ground is contrary to their contents. And so, the bans remain only on paper.
The crux of the problem and a solution lies in altering these rules. How do we go about it? The Regulations are framed in the Union List and in doing so the whole country is put in a straight jacket. The law fails to take into account that various regions of the country have their own mores, customs and traditions. The proper way would be to consult State governments get their inputs and create framework fitting into the requirement of every State. Alternately the powers to frame rules could be delegated to the States to enable them to legislate as per their own specific needs.
(Radharao F. Gracias is a senior Trial Court Advocate, a former Independent MLA, a political activist, with a reputation for oratory and
interests in history and
ornithology.)
