The Supreme Court on Thursday raised questions on the policy of banning firecrackers only in Delhi-NCR, stating that there cannot be a policy only for “elite” residents of the national capital. Stressing that “clean air” is everyone’s right, a two judge bench-led by Chief Justice BR Gavai said if bursting crackers has to be banned, it should be done across the country.
The CJI pointed out that recently he was in Amritsar, Punjab which he found to be more polluted than Delhi-NCR. He said there cannot be a selective imposition of the firecracker ban in the Delhi-NCR region, because “elite” residents of the national capital.
“If cities in NCR are entitled for clean air, why not people of other cities?…Whatever policy has to be there, it has to be on a pan-India basis. We cannot have a policy just for Delhi because they are elite citizens of the country,” the bench said, quoted PTI.
“I was in Amritsar last winter and the pollution there was worse than in Delhi. If firecrackers are to be banned, they should be banned throughout the country,” CJI Gavai stated.
Delhi’s ‘elites’ and cracker ban
The SC has asked the Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati, appearing for the Centre, to get a detailed report on the issue from the Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM). During the hearing, amicus curiae senior advocate Aparajita Singh, said, “The elites take care of themselves. They go out of Delhi when there’s pollution.”
The apex court was made aware that the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) was examining the feasibility of “green crackers” to reduce pollution. According to PTI, counsel of firecracker manufacturers suggested NEERI to prescribe permissible chemical compositions, which the industry would then incorporate in the design of crackers.
Delhi and row around cracker ban
The remarks come weeks before the festival of Dussehra and Diwali during which, the national capital and many cities across the country witness a sharp rise in the level of pollutants. Delhi sees a row over cracker ban almost every year with people flouting the norms and air getting severely bad for the residents.
The bench asked the officials to maintain status quo with regard to cancellation of fire crackers’ licences by the authorities and posted the matter for September 22.
The ban on firecracker during former CM Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP government was met with heavy criticism by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies, saying that the AAP was against Sanatan ideology and festivals. As winter approaches, Delhi struggles to maintain even ‘moderate’ air quality and despite steps like odd-even and prohibition on construction works, the situation fails to improve significantly.
What is interesting to note this year is that BJP is in power in the national capital. Now the party has same problem to deal with for which it criticised the AAP previously. It will be keenly watched what the party plans to do to mitigate environmental concerns this year.