The Supreme Court on Wednesday adjourned to October 10 the hearing on issues concerning the manufacturing and sale of ‘green’ crackers in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR).
A bench of Chief Justice B R Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran was scheduled to take up the matter, including the Centre’s report, but the law officer representing the Union government sought an adjournment, which the court allowed. The issue will now be heard on Friday, with senior advocate Balbir Singh, appearing for some manufacturers, urging the court to take up the matter before Diwali.
On September 26, the top court had allowed certified manufacturers to produce ‘green’ crackers, but imposed a clear restriction on their sale in prohibited areas within Delhi-NCR without the court’s permission. It also asked the Centre to revisit the absolute ban on manufacturing firecrackers in the region.
The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change was directed to hold consultations with all stakeholders—including the Delhi government, manufacturers, and sellers—before arriving at a final decision.
The bench had earlier stated:
“In the meantime, we permit the manufacturers who are having the certification of green crackers as certified by NEERI as well as PESO to manufacture. However, this will be subject to an undertaking by the manufacturers to this court that until further orders passed by this court, they would not sell any of their crackers in the prohibited areas.”
This conditional order will continue to operate until the next hearing.
The Supreme Court is hearing a batch of petitions filed by firecracker manufacturers seeking relaxation of the ban and permission to sell ‘green’ crackers. These crackers are said to cause lesser emissions compared to conventional ones and are certified by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) and the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO).
