NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said it would not impose a blanket ban on firecrackers in Delhi-NCR, but would also not permit fireworks throughout the day, saying a balance had to be struck between public health concerns and people’s sentiments.A bench of Justices MM Sundresh and PB Varale said the court would consider allowing firecrackers only during specified hours.“We will make it very clear. Neither we are going to agree for total ban, nor are we going to allow them to do it (fireworks) for 24 hours a day. Total ban will affect sentiments. And allowing them throughout the day will have huge impact on every other living being including the old, sick and children,” the bench orally observed, as quoted by PTI.“We need to find a solution by which we can give a specified time,” it added.The observations came during a hearing in which the Centre proposed a limited relaxation for a category of next-generation joined green crackers developed with technical inputs from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI).Additional Solicitor General Aishwarya Bhati submitted a note saying the court could consider permitting the specified green crackers subject to conditions on their manufacture, chemical composition, noise levels and emissions.According to the note, only duly licensed manufacturers would be allowed to produce the crackers. They would also have to meet the prescribed noise limit of 125 dB(AI)/145 dB(C) peak and could not contain banned chemicals.The proposed crackers are linked or joined fireworks formulated with reduced quantities of barium salts, with the aim of lowering emissions. The proposal is based on the category recommended by CSIR-NEERI and would be subject to applicable safety, noise and emission standards.
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The bench further said it would consider the issue concerning the use of barium in firecrackers on October 15.The court’s latest observations come ahead of Diwali and follow its earlier orders regulating the manufacture, sale and use of firecrackers in Delhi and the National Capital Region.Last year, the Supreme Court allowed the sale and use of green firecrackers in Delhi-NCR subject to conditions, including restrictions on when they could be used.The court had said their use would be limited to specified hours on the days before Diwali and on Diwali itself, as part of measures aimed at balancing festival-related celebrations with concerns over air pollution and public health.
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