Delhi bans sale and use of firecrackers to combat poor AQI

NEW DELHI: In its order on 8^th November 2020, a National Green Tribunal (NGT) bench has imposed complete ban on sales and purchase of firecrackers from midnight of 9^th November to midnight of 30^th November. Adarsh Kumar Goel, Chairperson, NGT, said, “There will be total ban against sale or use of all kinds of firecrackers in the National Capital Region from midnight of 9-10 November 2020 to the midnight of 30 November – 1 December 2020.”

In cities with ‘moderate’ or ‘below’ level of Air Quality Index (AQI), only Green Firecrackers can be sold. The bench has also restricted the bursting of firecrackers to the festival days for two hours only. The order said that if nothing is specified till the festivals, then the timings for bursting crackers will be from 8 PM to 10 PM on Diwali and Gurupurb, 6AM-8 AM on Chhatt Puja and 11.55 PM-12.30 PM during Christmas and New Year’s eve”.

NGT has directed the Central Pollution Control Board and State Pollution Control Boards to regularly compile data during this period and upload it to their respective websites and file a consolidated report for future analysis. Even before today’s order, many states like Delhi, West Bengal, Rajasthan and Sikkim had already banned the sale and purchase of firecrackers.