Won't impose ban on firecrackers: Punjab to NGT

With several states including Delhi, Odisha, and West Bengal banning crackers due to rising air pollution, the Punjab government has told the National Green Tribunal (NGT) that there is no need for a ban on the use of firecrackers as no part of the state falls in the National Capital Region (NCR).

The NGT, which is hearing a plea on seeking a ban on crackers due to air pollution, sought a response from 18 states including Karnataka and Punjab. The Tribunal will deliver its order on November 9 whether to ban crackers till November 30 or not.

In its reply, Punjab said that it has installed Continuous Ambient Air Quality Monitoring Stations (CAAQMS) in the non-attainment cities of Amritsar, Ludhiana, Mandi Gobindgarh, Patiala, Jalandhar, and Khanna and the Air Quality Index (AQI) remained in the range of good in August, satisfactory in September and moderate in October.

It said that the Punjab government had notified the time restrictions on bursting of firecrackers during Diwali, Gurpurab, Christmas, and New Year by issuing a public notice in the various newspapers through the State Pollution Control Board.

"In view of the above-stated facts and after due consideration of the matter in the background of Covid-19 pandemic, it is respectfully apprised that ban on the use of firecrackers is not required in the state of Punjab," it said.

Earlier, the NGT noted the air quality monitoring report of the Central Pollution Control Board which said that in 122 cities in the country, air quality norms fall below a threshold level.

Though the original petition was seeking a crackers' ban in NCR, later the NGT expanded its ambit and sought response from 18 states where these 122 falls.

Senior advocate Raj Panjawani and advocate Shibhani Ghosh, who have been appointed by the tribunal as amicus curiae in a case related to banning of firecrackers, had told a bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice A K Goel that particulate air pollution contributed 15 percent to Covid-19 mortality worldwide.

The NGT had on November 2 issued notice to the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) and four states on whether to ban the use of firecrackers from November 7 to 30 in the interest of public health and environment.

The tribunal was hearing a plea by the Indian Social Responsibility Network, seeking action against pollution by use of firecrackers in NCR during the time air quality is unsatisfactory with the potential of severity of Covid-19 pandemic.