Jammu, May 17: The Jammu Municipal Corporation (JMC) in its 15th general house meeting on Tuesday passed a resolution seeking removal of illegal loudspeakers in municipal limits amid opposition from the independent and Congress party councillors.
As the resolution was moved by BJP’s councilor Narotam Sharma from ward number 3 in Mast Garh area of Old City, the opposition Councillors stood-up opposing the resolution.
Sharma confirmed the resolution has been passed in the 15th general house meeting of the JMC following discussions “with majority voting in favour of the resolution although opposition members opposed the resolution.”
BJP has a majority in the JMC with 43 councillors.
Speaking to the media following the passing of the resolution, JMC Mayor, Chander Mohan Gupta said: “It’s not a new step. We already have guidelines from the Supreme Courts and Pollution Control Board with regard to the noise pollution control.”
“We will not remove them, but the administration will remove the loud speakers (illegal),” he added.
Meanwhile, Congress Party’s Municipal Councillor, Ritu Choudhary said that there was no discussion on the resolution. “We stood up and demanded a proper discussion on the resolution which was against the basic ethos of Jammu which is known as the City of Temples,” Choudhary told Greater Kashmir.
Claiming that they were assured a one and half hour discussion on the said resolution, she said that: “The wine shops which are opened in the city and even close to the religious places should be closed.”
The resolution has asked the District Magistrate Jammu to remove all the “illegal” loudspeakers and public address systems from all places including banquet halls, community halls, temples, mosques, gurudwaras, churches and all other religious places which have installed and are operating them “without any legal permission”.
“The DM Jammu shall also be asked to ensure that between 10 PM to 6 AM no loudspeaker and public address system is used atleast within JMC jurisdiction. Only those community halls, banquet halls, organizations and religious places are allowed to use public address systems and loudspeakers that have got permission from the concerned authorities with undertaking to use it within permissible decibel and only within time allowed by the authorities,” the resolution reads.
It suggested that the JMC and district administration should jointly issue advertisements in newspapers, radios, televisions, and through social media for awareness of the general public and these organizations about causes and impact of noise pollution on the health of the citizens including patients, old aged people and children.
The resolution also sought sufficient time for the organizations to comply with the provisions of this rule and judgement so that no one complains of any hassle and discrimination.
The resolution which is yet to be moved in the Corporation’s general house meeting also suggests that “traffic police should be asked to ensure no horn zones and penalize the offenders to curtail the noise pollution”.
“We shall also install noise checking meters at selective places at the initial stage in collaboration with the Pollution Control Board and other allied agencies,” the resolution’s reads.