Green Firecrackers, Pollution, and Festive Regulations
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Environment & Ecology (Air Pollution, Air Quality Index - AQI, Central Pollution Control Board - CPCB, Green Crackers); Science & Technology (Role of institutions like NEERI, PESO); Indian Polity (Role of Judiciary, Fundamental Rights - Article 21).
Mains:
General Studies Paper 2 (Polity & Governance): Separation of powers between various organs; Role of Judiciary in governance; Issues arising from the implementation of policies.
General Studies Paper 3 (Environment & S&T): Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation; Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.
Key Highlights from the News
The Supreme Court eased the complete ban on firecrackers in Delhi and the National Capital Region (Delhi-NCR).
Permission was granted to sell green fireworks approved by institutions like NEERI and PESO.
Time restrictions were imposed: firecrackers can only be used on October 19 and 20, between 6 AM and 7 AM, and between 8 PM and 10 PM.
The court referred to this relaxation as a "test case," aiming to see if controlled celebrations are possible while mitigating air pollution.
The court observed that the "blanket ban" had a counterproductive effect, leading to the smuggling of more dangerous traditional firecrackers.
The court directed the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and other state pollution control boards to monitor the Air Quality Index (AQI) from October 14 to 25.
The court referred to the 2018 Arjun Gopal v. Union of India case, which first proposed the concept of green firecrackers.
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