SC Permits Bursting Of Only Green Firecrackers During Diwali

New Delhi: The Supreme Court (SC) on Tuesday spelled out the rules and regulations of bursting crackers during Diwali. Here are the guidelines:

1. You can burst only green firecrackers with reduced emission and decibel levels. These types of firecrackers will be permitted during all religious festivals.
2. On Diwali, firecrackers can be burst between 8 pm and 10 pm.
3. A bench of Justice AK Sikri and Justice Ashok Bhushan banned the bursting of firecrackers not conforming to the green norms that would apply throughout the year.
4. These rules would be applicable to New Year celebrations and marriage festivities as well.
5. The authorities would identify common community areas for the bursting of firecrackers and ensure that people are made aware of these.
6. The police station chiefs would be personally responsible for ensuring the compliance of the order.
7. The bench also said the area police chief would be liable for contempt of court for failure to comply.
8. The court said that there would be no online sale of firecrackers. Any website found doing it would be slapped with a contempt notice.
9. The court also banned stringed and joined firecrackers called ‘Laddi’.

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) counsel Vijay Panjwani described the order as a ‘balanced one’.

However, the lawyers who were pressing for complete ban on the firecrackers said the court order would be difficult to implement for obvious practical reasons.