Rules for public celebrations vary by state, by city and often by year — decibel limits, permitted hours, immersion points and what needs a licence are all local and all subject to change. So this is not a list of what the law says. It is a list of what to have arranged, and who to confirm each item with, well before the week of your festival.
Confirm locally, and confirm early
The authorities that matter are usually your local police station, the municipal corporation or panchayat, and — for anything with a stage, a crowd or amplified sound — sometimes the fire and electrical departments. Ask them directly what is required this year rather than repeating what your committee did last year. Requirements move.
What most public celebrations need arranged
Treat this as a prompt list for the conversation, not as the requirements themselves.
- Permission to erect the mandap or pandal, and where it may stand
- Amplified sound — whether it is permitted, until when, and at what level
- Traffic and procession routes, especially for visarjan
- Temporary electrical connection and its safety certification
- Fire safety — extinguishers, clearances, access for a fire tender
- Immersion point, and whether an artificial tank is required
- Insurance for the event and, where relevant, for participants
- Waste and cleanup arrangements after the event
Every one of these has a cost
Permissions are not free, and they are almost never in the first draft of a festival budget. Fees, the electrician’s certificate, the extinguishers, the insurance premium, the cleanup deposit — put them in as a category at the start. A committee that budgets ₹0 for compliance will spend the money anyway, out of a line meant for something else, and the report will not explain it.
Keep the paperwork where the next committee will find it
The permission letter, the electrical certificate, the insurance policy — these are worth more next year than they are this year, because they tell the next committee exactly what was required and what it cost. Store them against the festival itself. Kosh lets you attach documents to a celebration, which means the paperwork lives with the accounts instead of in the outgoing secretary’s cupboard.