Ahead of Diwali, NGT bans sale or use of firecrackers in Delhi from midnight today till Nov 30

New Delhi, Nov 09: National Green Tribunal (NGT) has on Monday imposed a total ban against sale or use of all kinds of firecrackers in Delhi NCR from midnight today till 30th November ahead of the Hindu festival Deepawali.

However, cities/towns where air quality is 'moderate' or below, only green crackers be sold and the timings for use and bursting of crackers be restricted to two hours during festivals, like Diwali, Chhath, New Year/Christmas eve as may be specified by the State, the NGT statement said.

Earlier, several states and UT governments have decided to impose a ban on firecrackers and its sale ahead due to the increasing air pollution and coronavirus crisis in the country.

The NGT had recently sought response of the Union Environment Ministry, the governments of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, the Central Pollution Control Board, the Delhi Police Commissioner and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee on whether the use of firecrackers should be banned from November 7-30.

Earlier, the tribunal said that it may have to consider directions to prohibit the use of firecrackers during the period air quality is beyond a threshold to protect the health of the vulnerable groups.

So far, a total of eight states have imposed a ban on firecrackers. Delhi, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Odisha, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Chandigarh, Haryana and Karnataka are among them.

The Arvind Kejriwal government, at a meeting on Thursday, had decided to ban the use of firecrackers as it was directly proportional to the sharp rise in the national capital's daily coronavirus tally saying bursting of firecrackers can aggravate breathing issues thereby making people vulnerable to the infection which targets lungs.

Shortly after the NGT order, the Haryana government allowed the use of firecrackers between 8 pm till 10 pm on Diwali and Gurupurab, and 11.55 pm till 1230 am on Christmas and New Year's eve.