Noting that the “air pollution level remained alarming for a considerably long time,” the Supreme Court Thursday refused to relax the ban imposed on the manufacture, storage and sale of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR.
A bench of Justices A S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan said banning for a few weeks around Diwali won’t make any difference as crackers could be bought and kept in advance. “… One can imagine the effect of air pollution on the common man as everyone cannot afford to have air purifiers at their residence or place of work. There is a section of the population which works on streets and they are the worst affected by this pollution. After all, the right to health is an essential part of Article 21 of the Constitution of India, so is the right to live in a pollution-free atmosphere,” it said.
The court extended the ban till December 2025 and refused to be swayed by the prayer of firecracker manufacturers and sellers that it would affect their livelihood. It said the ban was limited to a small part of the country. “The ban is limited to Delhi-NCR. You have the entire India open for the sale of firecrackers,” said Justice Oka.
The court added that several orders passed by it in the last six months bring on record the horrible situation that prevailed in Delhi due to very high levels of air pollution.
Senior Advocate Aparajita Singh, the Amicus Curiae in the case, informed the bench that all four states falling in the NCR area had banned crackers. However, online sale was still an issue in some states, she added, and sought the court’s intervention to resolve this.
Singh said that “people literally choke during Diwali” and that it’s the weaker sections that suffer as the elite can afford air purifiers etc.
On a request to allow green crackers, the court said the union government had referred to a study by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute which indicated that they reduce particulate matter by only about 30%. The bench added that there can be no question of giving green crackers any relaxation unless it is shown that the pollution caused by them is the bare minimum.
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A counsel appearing for firecracker traders said that several people are employed in the industry.
But Justice Oka said that ultimately, entrepreneurs too have to do their duty towards the environment under Article 51A. “None of the reports say green crackers are free of pollution… The capital of India suffers from this pollution for two months,” he said, adding that the court expected all firecracker manufacturers to cooperate.
The judge added that the court is balancing the interests of the environment with those who want to earn money by selling crackers.
The court said it is willing to appoint an agency to undertake a study on firecrackers.
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