The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) wants idol makers to refrain from making plaster of Paris idols for Ganesh utsav, but murtikars have requested that they be allowed to use the material for idols. In a meeting on Thursday, the civic administration again asked sculptors not to make PoP idols but they are adamant on using the material, as they say it is not possible to make more than two lakh idols of clay.

In May 2020, the Central Pollution Control Board issued detailed guidelines banning PoP idols, which are said to be the cause of serious pollution of water bodies. However, the ban was postponed for one year after idol makers expressed fear of losing their livelihood due to it. After two years the BMC has sent a notice to sculptors instructing them not to make PoP idols.