SC rules out total ban on firecrackers for Deepavali

Why in the News

Firecracker policy for Deepavali has moved from the prospect of a total nationwide ban to a “limited and conditional relaxation” that permits next-generation joined green crackers. A Supreme Court Bench headed by Justice M.M. Sundresh ruled out the total ban, accepting suggestions from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI).

What are next-generation joined green crackers?

1. What they are: Joined crackers are a string of crackers linked to burst one after another. Green crackers are reformulated to pollute less, like a low-emission version of a regular product.
2. Barium-free design: The green series is made without barium, a toxic chemical used for colour. Its shell or tube size, formulation, bursting duration and frequency also differ.
3. Lower emissions: Tests show a 30% reduction in emissions compared with conventional joined crackers, with lower noise and fewer particulate emissions, the fine dust that enters the lungs.
4. Less waste, longer bursts: Smaller shells cut solid waste generation by 4% up to 32%. The bursting time has increased five times.
5. The takeaway: Cleaner chemistry lets the court allow festive crackers without accepting the full pollution load of conventional ones.

What conditions has the court accepted?

1. Compliance first: The court backed manufacture of these crackers only in compliance with applicable noise, emission and safety requirements.
2. Approved formulations: As the Centre proposed, the crackers must conform to formulations tested and approved by the competent authority.
3. Licensed makers only: The crackers must be made exclusively by duly licensed manufacturers.
4. Noise and emission limits: They must stay within permissible emission levels and a noise limit of 125 dB(AI) or 145 dB(C) peak. These are decibel measures of sudden and peak loudness.
5. Fixed design, no banned chemicals: CSIR-NEERI has prescribed the shell size, shell number and bursting duration. The crackers must be free of banned chemical ingredients.

How will the court balance festive sentiment and clean air?

1. Balanced view: The court said it would take a balanced view, given fears of air pollution with the onset of winter and the festive season.
2. No total ban: The Bench remarked orally that a total ban “will hurt certain sentiments“.
3. No round-the-clock bursting: It will not allow 24-hour bursting anywhere, as this affects the sick, the elderly and children. It will look into directing specific time windows for bursting.
4. Further tests: The court gave the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and the Union government more time for further barium and joined cracker decibel tests.

Challenges

1. Fake green labels: Conventional crackers sold as green are hard to tell apart at retail, so enforcement depends on market checks.
2. Policing time windows: Bursting hours are hard to enforce across dense neighbourhoods on a single festival night.
3. Seasonal pollution load: Crackers add to a season when stubble burning and still winter air already trap pollutants over north India.
4. Livelihood pressure: Cracker production clustered around Sivakasi in Tamil Nadu employs many workers, so strict curbs hit jobs.
5. Incomplete evidence: The relaxation comes before the pending barium and decibel tests are complete.

Way Forward

1. Verifiable packs: Approved crackers should carry QR codes that buyers and police can check against the CSIR-NEERI list.
2. Uniform hours: The court should fix uniform bursting hours, enforced by local police.
3. Live monitoring: The CPCB should publish noise and air quality readings through the festival.
4. Industry transition: States should help cracker units shift to approved formulations through training and credit.

Conclusion

The Supreme Court has chosen regulated celebration over prohibition, resting that choice on cleaner cracker chemistry. Watch for its directions on bursting time windows and the results of the pending tests before Deepavali.

Back2Basics: CSIR-NEERI

1. Parent body: A laboratory of the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, India’s largest public research network, under the Ministry of Science and Technology.
2. Location: Headquartered in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
3. Mandate: Research in environmental science and engineering, including air and water pollution control.
4. Green crackers: It developed India’s first green cracker formulations after the Supreme Court’s 2018 order allowing only less-polluting crackers.

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