SC to hear plea for permitting use of green crackers during Diwali on Oct 10

The Supreme Court on Wednesday deferred to October 10 the hearing on a plea seeking permission to use 'green' crackers' in Delhi-NCR during Diwali.

Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta had on Monday announced that the Delhi Government will appeal to the Supreme Court to permit the use of certified green firecrackers during Diwali.

A Bench led by Chief Justice of India BR Gavai on Wednesday deferred the hearing to Friday after Solicitor General Tushar Mehta requested that the case may be taken up on another day.

During hearing on petitions filed by firecracker manufacturers seeking to relax the ban and permission to sell 'green' crackers, senior advocate Balbir Singh submitted that the matter should be heard before Diwali.

Advocating balance between the right to livelihood of workers in cracker manufacturing units and citizens' right to a clean environment, the Supreme Court had on September 26 allowed certified manufacturers to produce green crackers in Delhi-NCR even as it said they can’t sell crackers in prohibited areas that face heightened air pollution.

"What is the problem in allowing them to manufacture (green crackers) if they follow norms. There has to be a solution. Extreme orders will create problems....So let them manufacture and let there be no sale in NCR till further orders..." the Bench had said.

It had asked the Centre to take a fresh look at the absolute ban on the manufacture of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR. It directed the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) to consult all stakeholders — the Delhi Government, manufacturers, sellers and others before taking a final decision.

“In the meantime, we permit the manufacturers who are having the certification of green crackers as certified by NEERI (National Environmental Engineering Research Institute) as well as PESO (Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation) to manufacture... However, this will be subject to an undertaking by the manufacturers that until further orders, they would not sell their crackers in the prohibited areas,” the top court had ordered.

The Bench issued the conditional order permitting certified manufacturers to produce 'green' crackers till the plea is heard again on October 8.

On April 3, a Bench headed by Justice AS Oka (since retired) had refused to relax the ban on manufacture, storage and sale of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR on the ground that air pollution levels remained alarming for a considerable time.

The CJI, however, on September 26 took note of the fact that a complete ban was hardly implemented. While curbing pollution was essential, an absolute ban was not “practical or ideal”, it noted.

“As was noticed by us in one of the judgments wherein in Bihar a complete ban on mining had led to illegal mafias engaging in the business of mining. In that view of the matter, it is necessary that a balanced approach must be adopted,” the top court had said.

While hearing a 1985 PIL filed by lawyer-turned environmentalist MC Mehta, the top court has been passing orders to check pollution in Delhi and adjoining areas.

Cracker manufacturers have contended that the April 3 order extending the ban on firecrackers in NCR throughout the year — instead the winter pollution season — went against the top court’s 2018 judgment in the Arjun Gopal case.