The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has pronounced a complete ban on the sale and use of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR starting midnight of November 9. The order comes amidst the record spike in pollution levels across the capital region. The air quality, notably, has remained in the ‘severe’ category in Delhi and NCR for five days in a row now.
The lastest order, as per an NDTV report, will be applicable to more than 2 dozen districts across four states that are a part of the National Capital Region (NCR).
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Also, as per ANI, the NGT further added that in cities and towns where the air quality is ‘moderate,’ only green firecrackers will be sold and the usage of the crackers will be limited to a restricted time limit of two hours during festivals such as Diwali, Chhath, New Year/Christmas Eve as may be specified by the state.
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To note, earlier, the Delhi government has already banned all types of firecrackers from November 7 to 30. However, Monday NGT’s order expands the ban to regions in Delhi’s vicinity.
Meanwhile, AQI in NCR has dipped to severe at 475 on the air quality tracker. Similar quality indexes were seen in Faridabad (462) and Gurugram (472).
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In addition to Delhi, many other states including Karnataka, Odisha, Rajasthan have banned or restricted the use and selling of firecrackers. You can check the full list of states that have banned firecrackers here.
