• Source:JND
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The National Capital Region states, including Delhi, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, on Friday requested the Supreme Court to allow the manufacturing and sale of green firecrackers across the Delhi-NCR on Diwali. The NCR states also said that bursting of green firecrackers should be allowed between 8 pm and 10 pm on Diwali, between 11.45 pm and 12.30 am on Christmas and New Year's Eve, and for one hour on Gurpurab.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre and NCR states, told a bench of Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran that a balanced approach is required to curtail air pollution during the festive season. 

Hinting towards relaxing the ban, the CJI said that a balancing of equities is needed, adding that an absolute ban was "neither practical nor ideal" and such restrictions were often evaded in practice. "Despite a complete ban, firecrackers continue to be used. Extreme orders create problems," the CJI said, reserving the order. 

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Proposals Made By NCR States: 

The Solicitor General made the following suggestions in front of the bench:

  • Bursting of firecrackers in the NCR region during Diwali should be done between 8 PM to 10 PM. He added that only green firecrackers approved by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) should be permitted for manufacturing and sale.

  • Strict precautions will be taken by the NCR states, the Delhi government, and the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) to prevent the manufacture of ‘laris’.

  • He further suggested that the sale of crackers should be through licensed traders only. No e-commerce website like Flipkart and Amazon should be allowed to sell firecrackers online. 

  • Mehta also suggested that during Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve, firecrackers should be allowed from 11:55 PM till 12:30 AM only.

  • During Guruparab, bursting of the crackers should be done from 4 AM to 5 AM and from 9 PM to 10 PM.

  • The sale and use of green firecrackers should also be allowed during marriage and other occasions. 

    • Earlier, on September 26, the top court permitted licensed manufacturers to produce ‘green’ crackers with a precondition that they cannot sell them in the Delhi-NCR region without its approval. 

    The Centre was also asked to review the blanket ban on the sale and manufacture of firecrackers in the Delhi-NCR region. Questioning the blanket ban in place since 2018, the CJI asked whether this rule has brought any tangible difference to the Air Quality Index.

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    "Has the air quality index improved or worsened since 2018? Was the pollution much less then compared to now," the CJI asked. In reply, the Solicitor General stated that according to the data of the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM), the pollution levels had largely remained the same except during the pandemic period when industrial and vehicular activity was halted.

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    Senior advocate K Parameshwar, representing green cracker manufacturers, contended that the prohibition was imposed in some NCR regions "without consultation" and violated the court's own 2017 and 2018 judgments that had permitted green crackers. Co-counsel J Sai Deepak added that the firecracker industry is already heavily regulated and is willing to cooperate with further inspections.

    With inputs from PTI.