NEW DELHI, Dec 2: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Wednesday extended its ban on the sale and use of firecrackers in Delhi and many other regions where the Air Quality Index is very poor and dangerous.
A bench of the NGT, headed by its chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, said, “There will be a total ban on the sale and use of all kinds of firecrackers during COVID-19 pandemic in the NCR and all cities/towns in the country where the ambient air quality falls under the ‘poor’ and above category.”
“Since pandemic is still continuing and is aggravated by the addition of pollution by firecrackers, having the potential of damage to public health, invoking precautionary principle under section 15 and 20 of the NGT Act, 2010, we are satisfied that there is need to continue directions for prohibition and regulation of use of fire crackers during pandemic COVID-19, depending upon air quality with further direction to take coercive measures for non-compliance, including the recovery of compensation and for redressal of claims of victims of such pollution and restoration of the environment,” the order said.
“Such festivals be specified by the States. Other than specified festivals, prior permission of the District Magistrate of the area will be required for use of crackers for the limited period which will be given having regard to air quality,” it added.
NGT added that “During Christmas and New Year, green crackers can be used from 11:55 pm to 12:30 am only at places where air quality is ‘moderate’ or below as directed by the Supreme Court.”
Earlier the NGT said that “to check the quality of air, at least one air quality monitoring station must be set up at every district but no such monitoring station exists. Manual monitoring station is very easy to set up and it is not costly so it must be installed at the earliest.”
To stop the selling of firecrackers in polluted districts – NGT has already directed the Air Quality Monitoring Committees (AQMC) in 2018 to coordinate with the district magistrates and also asked the district magistrates in every district to take steps to ensure that banned firecrackers are not selling.
The Green Tribunal had already taken the major steps to prevent the coronavirus spread – The NGT had imposed a total ban on the sale and use of firecrackers in the national capital region from midnight of November 9 to midnight of November 30.
(Vinayak Barot)