MP High Court Orders 25% Cut In Garbage Van Loudspeaker Volume In Indore, Directs Sound Meters At Police Stations And Ward-Level Monitoring

Indore (Madhya Pradesh): The Indore bench of the Madhya Pradesh High Court on Monday directed the Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) to reduce the loudspeaker volume of garbage collection vehicles to permissible decibel limits or at least 25% of the current volume, taking serious note of noise pollution in the city.

A division bench of Justice Subodh Abhyankar and Justice Jai Kumar Pillai issued the directions while hearing a petition filed by Amitabh Upadhyay and another petitioner through their counsel Abhinav Dhanodkar against the State of Madhya Pradesh and others.

The court observed that while cleanliness songs played by garbage vehicles help alert residents, the volume often exceeds permissible legal limits. The IMC has been directed to submit a compliance report within three weeks.

In another key measure, the court directed the station house officer (SHO) of every police station to appoint two volunteers from each ward to report noise pollution violations.

The volunteers can alert police about individuals or vehicles creating excessive noise and record violations on their mobile phones. Residents reluctant to approach police directly can contact these volunteers. Police have been instructed to act promptly on complaints in accordance with the law.

The court also ordered the provision of sound-measuring devices to police personnel at every police station in Indore to ensure effective action. It noted that ACP Khajrana Ashish Patel had brought a sound-measuring device during an earlier hearing, but it had reportedly not been used publicly to record violations and initiate action.

Authorities have also been directed to publish the contact number of the concerned police station for noise pollution complaints in newspapers and on the Indore Police website.

State told to publish silence zone list

The court expressed dissatisfaction with the State's compliance with its Sep 24, 2026, order to publish a list of designated silence zones in widely circulated daily newspapers.

It observed that authorities had only produced newspaper excerpts mentioning the zones instead of properly publishing the list. The State has now been directed to publish the list and invite suggestions for adding prominent locations that may qualify as silence zones but were omitted.

Police asked to submit noise complaints

Expressing concern over unchecked noise pollution during Navratri and Dussehra, the bench observed that police appeared helpless in tackling the problem.

It directed authorities to submit complaints received by police stations across the city, along with any suo motu complaints registered by police in response to noise pollution.

The respondents must submit a compliance report within three weeks. The matter has been listed for further hearing in the week commencing Nov 23.