Complete ban on selling, bursting firecrackers in Delhi-NCR till November 30

The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Monday imposed a total ban on the sale or use of all kinds of firecrackers in the National Capital Region (NCR) and highly polluted cities in the country from midnight of November 9 to the midnight of November 30.

A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel clarified that the direction will apply to all cities and towns in the country where the average of ambient air quality during November (as per available data of last year) fell under the ''poor'' and above categories.

"The cities/towns where air quality is ''moderate'' or below, only green crackers be sold, and the timings for use and bursting of crackers be restricted to two hours during festivals like Diwali, Chhath, New Year/Christmas Eve, etc., as may be specified by the state concerned," the bench said.

"At other places, ban/restrictions are optional for the authorities but if there are more stringent measures under orders of the authorities, the same will prevail," the bench said.

The NGT also directed all states and Union Territories to initiate special drives to contain air pollution from all sources in view of the potential of aggravation of Covid-19.

The Tribunal passed this order after hearing a plea seeking ban on crackers in NCR due to rising pollution and fearing a rise in Covid-19 cases.

The Tribunal sought reply from 18 states whether to impose ban on crackers in the interest of the public health.

Already several states and Union Territories including Delhi, West Bengal, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Odhisha and Chandigarh have banned the use of crackers during Dewali festival.