The Supreme Court Wednesday allowed the sale of green crackers approved by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) from October 18 to October 20, and said their use will be confined between 6 am and 7 am and 8 pm and 10 pm “on two days, the one before and on the Diwali day.” A bench of Chief Justice of India B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran said it was doing so as a “temporary measure” following what was laid down by the top court in the case of Arjun Gopal vs Union of India in 2018, when it had allowed green crackers. “The sales shall only be through licensed traders and products that are green crackers manufactured by those who are registered with the NEERI… Any fire crackers seized which are not manufactured by the registered licensed manufacturers shall be immediately confiscated,” the bench said, adding no sale or purchase of fire crackers through e-commerce sites will be allowed. The court said the licences of traders that expired or were cancelled after the ban on firecrackers will be renewed for the period stipulated by the statutory authorities. “There shall be no firecrackers allowed in the NCR region from outside the said region. The use of firecrackers with barium and those not approved by NEERI as green crackers shall not be permitted, and if found for sale or in possession of the individual trader, the same shall be confiscated immediately”. “The sale of these products shall be permitted only from the designated location in the entire National Capital Region, which shall be identified by the district collector…in consultation with the district superintendent of police and given wide publicity.” The bench said the police “in consultation with the district administration” will constitute patrolling teams to “keep a vigil on the designated locations of sale, including officers as nominated from the regional office of the state pollution control board.” Also Read | QR-coded green crackers for Diwali, designated sale spots in Delhi-NCR: Top points from Supreme Court order These patrol teams will become familiar with the products listed on the NEERI website, including their registration details and the QR code assigned to each manufacturer. They will conduct regular reconnaissance at the designated sites to ensure that only the permitted products and only those with QR codes are sold. They will also take random samples for analysis. The bench said those involved in the manufacturing or sale of prohibited products should be issued notice, who would not only be penalised but also have their license registration with PESO or NEERI cancelled. The court said that the Central Pollution Control Board, in consultation with the state pollution control board, and their respective offices within districts under NCR, will monitor the air quality index in their respective jurisdictions starting from October 14, and file a report before it. The court said that it was only relaxing the norms on a trial basis.
