DMs to fix places for sale of green firecrackers: Sirsa

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa on Wednesday welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision allowing the use of green firecrackers in the national capital during Diwali and said district magistrates will designate places for their sale.

Addressing a press conference here, Sirsa said manufacturers must ensure that no prohibited firecrackers enter Delhi-NCR markets and appealed to residents to use only green firecrackers.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday relaxed the ban on green firecrackers in the capital with certain conditions. It said the sale of green firecrackers will be permitted from October 18 to 21 and their use shall be confined from 6 am to 7 am, and from 8 pm to 10 pm on the day before Diwali and on Diwali day.

Sirsa said the court’s order will be very strictly implemented and firecracker manufacturers and retailers will have to furnish undertakings that they will not violate court guidelines.

“We will ensure that Delhi’s air and people remain healthy while Diwali is celebrated with firecrackers,” he said.

Sirsa said strict monitoring will be done to prevent the sale of banned firecrackers in Delhi and ensure full compliance with the apex court’s directions.

At present, the minister said, no one has a license to sell green firecrackers in Delhi and the district magistrates (DMs) will issue licenses. Online sale of firecrackers will not be allowed, he said.

The DMs will also designate places for selling green firecrackers, he said.

National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) and Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO)-approved green firecrackers will be allowed to be sold and used in Delhi-NCR. ‘Ladi’ firecrackers will not be allowed.

Barium-based firecrackers will also remain banned. Prohibited firecrackers will be confiscated and shops selling them will be shut down, the minister said.

The licensed manufacturers will ensure that no firecrackers other than green ones enter Delhi-NCR. Licenses of manufacturers will be suspended if violations are found during monitoring, he said.

The Delhi Pollution Control Committee, alongwith the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), started the monitoring exercise from October 14 and it will go on till October 25, Sirsa said.

The monitoring reports will be reviewed to assess changes in the Air Quality Index (AQI), if any. The SC has defined the role of every agency and set norms.

Sirsa thanked Chief Minister Rekha Gupta for her initiative to lift the ban on green firecrackers.