Supreme Court seeks states’ stance on year-round firecracker ban in NCR

The Supreme Court asked the governments of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan to spell out their respective stand on banning firecrackers in the National Capital Region (NCR) throughout the year.

“The issue regarding ban on the use of firecrackers in NCR states is yet to be addressed. We direct the concerned state governments to place their decisions regarding complete ban on the use of firecrackers throughout the year,” a bench led by Justice AS Oka said.

The ban is required to not only curb air pollution but noise pollution as well, said the bench, which also included Justice AG Masih.

Currently, such a ban is in place only on Diwali and New Year’s Eve.

Once the states’ positions are on record, the court will consider issuing directions to ban the manufacture, storage, distribution and sale of firecrackers, the bench said.

The bench, which has been hearing the Delhi air pollution issue and monitoring measures taken by authorities in NCR states to check it, had earlier said that no religion encouraged activities that generated pollution. It had also asked the Delhi Government to consider a perpetual ban on firecrackers in the national capital.

The bench directed the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) to continue with the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) Stage-II restrictions in the national capital along with certain GRAP III measures such as water sprinkling, mechanised road sweeping and restricting entry of inter-state buses.

Amicus curiae Aparajita Singh submitted that authorities should adopt a proactive approach and implement the next stage of GRAP before AQI thresholds were breached, instead of awaiting orders from the top court.