NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday allowed the manufacture of green firecrackers in Delhi, provided that they are not sold in the Delhi-NCR region.
A three-judge bench led by CJI B R Gavai said, “We permit the manufacturers who have the certification of green crackers by the NEERI (National Environmental Engineering Research Institute), and PESO (Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation), to manufacture. However, this will be subject to an undertaking by the manufacturers that until further orders, they would not sell any of their crackers in the prohibited areas,” and posted the matter for further hearing to October 8.
Some parties argued that the SC’s April 3 order extending the firecracker ban in NCR to the whole year instead of just the winter season was in conflict with the 2018 verdict in the Arjun Gopal case.
The bench said it was not proposing to go into that issue at this moment, keeping in view the level of pollution.
Senior advocate Aparajita Singh, the amicus curiae in the matter, suggested to the SC for a complete ban on firecrackers, including their manufacture. She submitted that allowing the firecracker manufacture in NCR will eventually lead to their sale and use in the prohibited areas, which will ultimately increase the level of pollution.
Opposing the submissions, senior advocates Balbir Singh and other lawyers, appearing for some firecracker manufacturers association, sought to allow manufacturing within certain strict conditions. “They can declare the quantities on the websites and will make all necessary declarations while keeping the safety parameters of pollution level,” Singh added.
To this, the SC expressed concerns about the impact on the livelihood of workers engaged with the firecracker manufacture companies.