No permission, no donation: Charity commissioner

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The charity commissioner has instructed Ganesh mandals in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar to secure mandatory permissions to collect donations for the upcoming Ganesh festival.
In a statement issued, assistant charity commissioner V. D. Shende has appealed to citizens to ensure Ganesh mandals possess the necessary permits before making any donations.
Permits can be obtained online or offline with a Rs 10 court fee stamp, last year’s expenditure details, identity proof of office bearers, a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the landowner where the Ganesh idol will be installed, the landowner's electricity bill and identity proof.
The Ganesh festival is scheduled to take place between Sept 7 and Sept 17, and many mandals have already begun their preparations.
Prithviraj Pawar, founder of the Ganesh Mahasangh, which represents 1,400 Ganesh mandals in the region, argued against the enforcement of this new rule. “There is not a single case in the past many years where donations were sought forcefully or by bullying anybody. There is a mutual understanding and trust between Ganesh mandals and citizens when it comes to donations,” he said.