A child sets off firecrackers during Deepavali festival in New Delhi. File | Photo Credit: PTI
The Delhi government on Thursday informed the Supreme Court that it has imposed a “comprehensive and permanent” ban on firecrackers with immediate effect.
Appearing before a bench headed by Justice AS Oka, senior advocate Shadan Farasat, representing Delhi, said the order was passed by the Principal Secretary for Environment, Delhi government on December 19 on the orders of the Supreme Court. .
“We have banned [firecrackers]… It’s permanent and pervasive,” Mr Farasat said.
The senior lawyer said the statutory ban was passed under Section 5 of the Environmental Protection Act, 1986.
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“The state government has imposed a complete ban on the manufacture, storage, sale, including delivery through online marketing platforms and burning of all kinds of firecrackers in the National Capital Territory of Delhi throughout the year with immediate effect,” the Supreme Court noted. In that order.
However, Delhi government lawyers said the ban will only be effective if other National Capital Region (NCR) states such as Rajasthan, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh also implement similar measures.
Dealer dissatisfaction
Meanwhile, lawyer Rohini Musa, appearing for 150 firecracker dealers in Delhi, said the Supreme Court has directed the Delhi government to consult them on the issue. “There was no consultation, nothing,” Ms Moussa told the court.
During the hearing, Rajasthan said that it had imposed a similar ban in areas falling under NCR through an order dated December 17, 2024.
This led the court to focus on Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. “We direct the states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to impose bans similar to those in Delhi,” the court ordered.
In a previous hearing, the Supreme Court had put pressure on NCR states to implement a long-standing ban on the manufacture, sale and setting off of firecrackers in the region to significantly reduce toxicity and noise pollution in the air.
Published – December 20, 2024 12:43 AM (IST)