Mumbai: The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court has permitted the resumption of flower and garland offerings at the Shri Saibaba Sansthan in Shirdi. This practice had been suspended for over three years due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The HC was hearing petitions filed by the Sansthan’s ad-hoc committee seeking approval to resume flower offerings, and another by flower vendors requesting permission to sell flowers inside the temple premises.
“It would be appropriate that permission is granted to the Sansthan/trust for resuming offering of flowers/garlands… and calling upon the ad-hoc committee to take appropriate decision at the earliest regarding the manner in which it decides to dispose of the waste to be generated by virtue of offering of the flowers/garlands,” a bench of Justices Mangesh Patil and Shailesh Brahme said on November 14.
In 2021, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) was filed challenging the temple’s management. In September 2022, the Court directed the State government to establish a new managing committee. An ad-hoc committee, comprising the Principal District Judge, Collector, and the Chief Executive Officer of the Sansthan, has since been managing the temple’s affairs.
Flower offerings were initially halted in 2020 as a precaution during the pandemic and over concerns related to cleanliness and waste management.
Sansthan’s advocate, .l Bajaj, emphasised that the decision to resume offerings was made after considering inputs from all stakeholders, including flower farmers and devotees. He noted that flowers would be sourced from a credit co-operative society operated by temple employees and sold at reasonable rates within the premises.
Bajaj acknowledged that while a formal waste disposal plan was not yet in place, the Sansthan had previously collaborated with a self-help group to convert discarded flowers into incense sticks, which could be resumed.
However, advocate PS Talekar, appearing for an intervenor, argued that resuming offerings could lead to the harassment of devotees and the return of unauthorised flower vendors.
State’s advocate AB Girase echoed these concerns, urging the Court to consider the potential for exploitation by illegal vendors and the need for maintaining cleanliness.
The Court expressed apprehensions over the Sansthan’s waste management strategy, stating, “If such used flowers and garlands are to be e-auctioned or disposed of by e-tender, one wonders as to how there could be a stipulation superadded precisely for their use in manufacture of agarbatties.”
However, the bench stressed that its primary focus was on the resumption of flower offerings, urging the ad-hoc committee to expedite decisions on waste disposal.
