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'May lift ban but...': What Supreme Court said on use and sale of firecrackers during Diwali in Delhi-NCR
A bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran said it will decide on relaxing the absolute ban on firecrackers in Delhi-NCR.
Delhi is likely to have Diwali celebrations with firecrackers as the Supreme Court on Friday said the ban will be lifted for five days. A bench of Chief Justice of India BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran reserved its order and said it will decide on relaxing the absolute ban on firecrackers in Delhi-NCR.
"For the time being, we will permit the ban lifting during Diwali," the bench remarked.
The order comes amid concerns over air quality and pollution levels that usually spike during the Diwali time, which coincides with stubble-burning in the adjoining states.
What did the SC say?
During the hearing, solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who is representing the Center, requested the court to relax Diwali timings, arguing children should not be restricted to two hours of celebration.
“It is a matter of a few days on Diwali. Let children celebrate Diwali with fervour,” the solicitor general said.
The top court said that the ban will be lifted for the “time being” and allow it during the five days of Diwali on trial basis. “However, we will confine it to certain time limits,” it said.
The government proposed strict time windows: 8pm to 10pm on Diwali and major festivals, 11.55pm to 12.30am on New Year’s Eve, and one-hour slots morning and evening for Gurpurab. Firecrackers could also be used for weddings and personal occasions, it submitted.
Amicus Curiae senior advocate Aparajita Singh, who was assisting the bench in the matter, expressed concern over "fake green crackers" being sold under false labels, which continued to use polluting chemicals.
During the hearing, the apex court also inquired whether there had been any improvement in the AQI from 2018 to 2024.
Environmentalists concerned
Experts have repeatedly raised alarm over such a move, citing the two-year period between 2018 and 2020 when a similar policy for green firecrackers yielded no reduction in air pollution levels, and argued that on the ground, it was virtually impossible to distinguish between such products and conventional firecrackers.
While weather and wind conditions, and farm waste burning, mostly in Punjab, are responsible for the rise in air pollution in the region at this time of the year, the use of fireworks — even green crackers are polluting, although by around a third less than normal crackers — causes a temporary spike in and around Diwali.
Sunil Dahiya, founder and lead analyst at think-tank Envirocatalysts said bursting of green firecrackers could potentially set back by 10 years the fight against air in Delhi.
“We need to control all sources of pollution at the source, including episodic events such as firecracker bursting — which lead to a spike in air pollution,” said Dahiya, stating if meteorological conditions were unfavourable, the impact can linger for days. “For long-term gains, we also need to control stubble burning as well as perennial sources such as transport emissions, power generation, industries, waste and construction sector,” he added.
