Christians have drawn the state government's attention to an error in the loudspeakers notification for 2023 which mentions Christmas Day as December 24 when the correct date should be December 25. This is the second year that the government has made mistakes in the notification for noise rules relaxation.
The community said that the wrong terminology is confusing as the midnight mass is not held on Christmas Day but the previous night, December 24.
The error made in notification
The error was made in the notification issued on February 15, 2023, by the Collector, Mumbai Suburban District, regarding the relaxation of timings for the use of loudspeakers and public address systems on various festival days throughout the year 2023. The notification is needed every year as noise pollution rules ban the use of loudspeakers between 10 pm and 6 am.
The Noise Pollution (Regulations and Control) Rules, 2000 prohibit the use of loudspeakers and public address systems between 10 pm and 6 am. Later the Bombay High Court allowed relaxation of the rules on 15 days in a year. On these days, loudspeakers can be used for two extra hours - between 10 pm and 12 pm. Among days when the rules are relaxed are Maharashtra Day, four days of Ganeshotsav, two days of Navratri, and one day each for Shiv Jayanti, Babasaheb Ambedkar's birthday, Eid-e-Milad, Christmas Eve, Diwali (Laxmi Puja), and New Year's Eve. In addition, the government can declare two additional days when noise rules are allowed to be relaxed.
Group writes to Collector
In a letter to the Mumbai District Collector, state Chief Minister, Chief Secretary, and state Home Minister, community groups have asked for a correction of the date to avoid confusion and legal problems.
Advocate Godfrey Pimenta of Watchdog Foundation said that in the notification dated February 16, 2022, it was wrongly mentioned that the noise rules will be relaxed on December 25, 2022. This has been corrected this time."The Christmas Eve midnight mass, a significant event for the Christian community, is traditionally observed on 24th December each year, necessitating the relaxation under Regulation 5 (3) of the Noise Pollution (Regulations and Control) Rules, 2000," Pimenta said in the letter to the government.
The noise rules make it mandatory for users of loudspeakers on these days to apply for permission from the local police station. A resident of Borivali who wanted to apply for permission to use loudspeakers at a community Christmas event on the evening of December 24.The community has asked for a corrigendum to rectify the mistake anomaly in the current notification.
They said that the corrected information should say that the relaxation for the use of loudspeakers and public address systems pertains to "Christmas Eve Midnight Mass - 24th December 2023.
