Over 75 register for green cracker licence on Friday in Delhi

Delhi Police on Friday ramped up efforts to issue temporary green firecracker licences to retailers across Delhi, processing over 90 applications in 24 hours

Delhi Police on Friday processed over 75 new applications for temporary green firecracker licences – the second and final day of registration drive – bringing the total number of applicants across the city to 90, officials aware of the matter said. Still, vendors complained that only a few licences had actually been issued and that the process remained confusing and bureaucratic.

Firecrackers are already being sold openly across Delhi-NCR. (Parveen Kumar/HT Photo)

The late surge came after police set up 24-hour helplines, deployed special units to process paperwork, and used social media to publicise the process. HT reported on Thursday that only 15 traders across the city applied for temporary licenses to legally sell firecrackers in the Capital on the first day of the drive.

Devesh Kumar Srivastava, special commissioner of police (crime), said, “We are all working in compliance with the Supreme Court order. We will ensure that the sale and use of green crackers in the national capital be permitted on allowed dates. Staff has been instructed to check NEERI approved crackers with QR codes. The ban on all other firecrackers shall remain in full force, and sale or use of banned, series/laris, or online-purchased firecrackers will invite strict legal action. Supply of firecrackers are prohibited through courier or any other delivery service.”

On Wednesday, the Supreme Court allowed the sale of green firecrackers in Delhi NCT, but this came with a restriction that vendors needed a temporary licence and the sale was only allowed from October 18 to October 20. Their use is also limited to two windows – from 6am to 7am and 8pm to 10pm on October 19 and 20.

Officials said there are around 150-180 permanent licence holders in Delhi and around 300 who apply for temporary licences for seasonal sales.

For a temporary licence, applicants require permissions from three departments, namely the DCP (deputy commissioner of police) office, the district magistrate, and the fire department. Applicants need to furnish documents mentioning the shop registration number, Aadhaar, PAN, permission from the fire department, a map showing sufficient area for fire tenders to approach, and pictures of the premises.

A senior police officer told HT, “We had to pull out records from 2020 and see who all had temporary licences and called them. Some said they were not aware of SC guidelines, others said they felt the guidelines felt overwhelming and it was short notice for them. However, we did encourage many to come on Friday.”

On Friday, police said most of the applications were from outer Delhi, west Delhi, central Delhi, north Delhi and east Delhi.

A second senior police officer said, “There are no specific designated spots. As of now, DCPs and Licensing Dept of Delhi Police is processing all these applications. The vendors have already some shops and stalls. Based on the applications, we will make those as designated spots.”

Meanwhile, vendors said only a fraction of them have been able to procure the licences. “There’s no manufacturing plant in Delhi and we can’t buy from outside. We can’t build an industry in two-three days. It is going to be difficult to manage,” said Brijesh Goyal, chairman, Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI).

Vendors also said they are not sure if enforcement will be rigid, given that most people don’t know how to differentiate between green firecrackers and barium ones.

A Shahdara-based firecracker trader, Sunil Kumar Mittal, said he buys firecrackers from reputed brands and just checks that they are registered with NEERI (National Environmental Engineering Research Institute).

“We are traders, we don’t know what is green and what is not. We don’t have a tool to check chemical composition. The government said you can sell green crackers and it needs to be registered with NEERI and must have a QR code and logo. We ensure that we follow this when we buy crackers,” Mittal said.

He said the demand for firecrackers has peaked following the court’s order but the traders have limited or no stocks. “Every day, I receive around 1,000 calls from people asking when we can come and buy crackers,” said Mittal. “We can’t keep firecrackers before October 18 and after the 21st. We have very little time and we don’t stock.”