The Delhi administration has made a big policy decision to go to the Supreme Court and ask for permission to let people use certified “green crackers” in a controlled way during the approaching Diwali holiday.
Rekha Gupta, the Chief Minister of Delhi, said that her government has chosen to ask the Supreme Court to preserve the feelings of “crores of people who celebrate the festival in the city.” She said that Diwali is the most important celebration in Indian culture.
The Legal Problem: SC’s Ban on Sales in Delhi-NCR
The Delhi government’s request goes against a Supreme Court order from September 26. The Court conditionally let certified makers make green crackers, but it made it clear that they could not be sold in the Delhi-NCR zone, which is already outlawed, without the Court’s permission. Since 2019, Delhi has banned all firecrackers, even the green kind. This is because the air quality in the city gets so bad during Diwali that the Air Quality Index (AQI) often goes into the “severe” category.
What do green crackers mean?
The CSIR-NEERI (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research–National Environmental Engineering Research Institute) in India came up with green crackers as a technical alternative.
Mechanism: These environmentally friendly pyrotechnics are made to lower noise and air pollution by getting rid of very harmful chemicals like barium. They add chemicals that are meant to keep dust down and emit water vapor when they catch fire. This helps keep dangerous fumes and particles from getting into the air.
Proponents, such as Dipankar Saha, former assistant director and head of Air Laboratories at the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), say that these design changes cut emissions by about 30% compared to regular firecrackers.
Skepticism from Experts: The “Green Oxymoron” Debate
Even while scientists say it’s a good idea, many environmental experts have spoken out strongly against the idea of permitting green crackers, saying it won’t work and won’t help the environment much.
Bhargav Krishna, the head of the Sustainable Futures Collaborative, dubbed the idea a “oxymoron,” saying that the small drop in pollutants “is not going to make a big difference to air quality, especially if they are widely available.”
Immediate Offset: Mukesh Khare, a specialist on air pollution at IIT Delhi, pointed out the practical flaw: “These have less sulfur and fewer toxic chemicals, but if you set off a lot of regular firecrackers or even a lot of green ones, any benefit is immediately cancelled out.”
“Less-Bad” Not “Safe”: Clean air expert Bhavreen Kandhari backed up the criticism by telling media that even if green crackers cut down on some pollutants, they still let out dangerous ultrafine particles and gasses, making them “less-bad” instead of a truly safe or acceptable choice.
The Problem with Fake Crackers and the Law
Fraud and mislabeling are big problems that make it even harder to implement policies. Fake QR codes, chemical manipulation, and unproven claims of “eco-friendliness” make the classification procedure “extremely difficult.” Investigators have revealed that many so-called “green crackers” offered in stores still include the same dangerous chemicals that are forbidden, like barium nitrate, lead, arsenic, and antimony. These ingredients make regular crackers very dangerous.
The Delhi government’s plea must now satisfy the Supreme Court that it can put in place a strong enforcement system to control their use and keep the capital’s air quality from getting worse again and reaching the “severe” level.