NEW DELHI: In a move to ban firecrackers, Environment Minister Gopal Rai on Wednesday said that bursting firecrackers on Diwali in the national capital will lead to a jail term of up to six months and a fine of Rs 200.
Production, storage and sale of firecrackers in the city will be punishable with a fine of up to Rs 5,000 and three years in jail under Section 9B of the Explosives Act, said Rai.
In September, the government re-imposed a complete ban on the production, sale and use of all types of firecrackers till January 1, including on Diwali, a practice it has been following for the last two years.
The government will light 51,000 diyas at Central Park in Connaught Place on Friday.
“The purchase and bursting of firecrackers in Delhi will be punishable with a fine of Rs 200 and six months in jail under the IPC,” the minister said. Rai said 408 teams have been set up to implement the ban.
The Delhi Police has set up 210 teams under assistant commissioners of police, while the Revenue Department has constituted 165 teams and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee 33.
The minister said 188 cases of violations have been detected and 2,917 kg firecrackers seized till October 16. The air quality in Delhi started worsening in October due to unfavourable meteorological factors such as low temperatures and wind speed, which do not allow the dispersion of pollutants.
“Pollution levels rise around Diwali every year. The major reason is the bursting of firecrackers,” said Rai.
