Using firecrackers on Diwali in Delhi may land you in jail for 6 months

New Delhi Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai on Wednesday said the state government was prepared to enforce the ban on firecrackers across the Capital this Diwali, adding that teams have been set up to keep a tab on violators

New Delhi Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai on Wednesday said the state government was prepared to enforce the ban on firecrackers across the Capital this Diwali, adding that teams have been set up to keep a tab on violators. He warned that purchasing and bursting of firecrackers in the Capital is punishable with a ₹200 fine and 6 months of jail time, while those involved in manufacturing, storing and selling firecrackers in the city could be fined up to ₹5,000 and be jailed for 3 years.

Delhi environment minister Gopal Rai. (PTI)

“The Delhi Police has formed 210 teams. All the teams will be spearheaded by an officer of the ACP (assistant commissioner of police) rank. The revenue department, meanwhile, has formed 165 teams and there are 33 teams under the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC). These teams consist of a total of 1,279 personnel and all those who violate the ban by selling, manufacturing or storing it (firecrackers) will have to pay a fine of ₹5,000 and be imprisoned for three years as per Section 9(b) of the Explosive Act. Similarly, those who purchase and burn the crackers illegally, they will be prosecuted under Section 268 of IPC, which stipulates a fine of ₹200 and imprisonment for 6 months,” Rai said.

He also said a joint meeting on the effective implementation of the cracker ban in Delhi was attended by him and the Delhi Police, revenue department and the DPCC.

The minister urged the people to strictly comply with the ban and to celebrate Diwali by lighting diyas or earthern lamps instead of bursting firecrackers.

“The government will run a jan jagrukta abhiyan (public awareness campaign) to clear the misinformation with people regarding crackers. Many people think that Diwali cannot be celebrated without bursting crackers but this is not true as when we first started celebrating Diwali in a grand fashion, there were no crackers,” Rai said, announcing a ‘Diye Jalao, Patake Nahi’ event to be celebrated on October 21 at Central Park in Connaught Place.

“There, we will light 51,000 diyas… We appeal to the people of Delhi to take part in it. Afterwards, we will run this awareness campaign across all localities in Delhi with the assistance of RWAs, eco clubs and paryavaran mitras to educate people about how harmful firecrackers are,” he said.

In response, Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor said it was important to take steps to curb air pollution, firecrackers are not the main source of air pollution in Delhi.

“Diwali is five days away and no crackers are being burst yet, but Delhi is still facing pollution due to three main reasons -- stubble burning by farmers across Punjab, dust pollution on Delhi roads and vehicular emissions,” he said, accusing Rai of being silent on stubble burning now that the AAP was in power in Punjab.

According to government data, 188 people have been penalised for flouting the cracker ban in Delhi as on October 16. Meanwhile, Delhi Police data shows around 10,900kg of firecrackers have been seized across the capital as on October 18.