The 'Green Cracker' Compromise: Balancing Festive Traditions and Public Health
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Environment & Ecology (Air Pollution, Green Crackers, Air Quality Index (AQI)); Indian Polity (Role of Judiciary, Supreme Court Judgments); Key Institutions (CSIR-NEERI, PESO, CPCB).
Mains:
General Studies Paper 2 (Polity & Governance): Role of Judiciary in governance; Separation of powers between various organs; Government policies and interventions.
General Studies Paper 3 (Environment & Economy): Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation; Impact of economic policies (on firecracker industry).
General Studies Paper 4 (Ethics): The ethical dilemma of balancing cultural rights, economic livelihoods, and the right to life (health).
Essay: The "Environment vs. Development" or "Culture vs. Conservation" debate.
Key Highlights from the News
The Supreme Court relaxed the firecracker ban, which had been in place in the Delhi-NCR region since 2018, allowing the use of green crackers.
This decision is a compromise between festive celebrations, public health, and economic considerations (livelihood).
The court observed that a blanket ban often leads to a counterproductive effect, causing the smuggling of more dangerous traditional firecrackers.
Green crackers are not zero-emission products, but they reduce pollution by up to 66% compared to traditional firecrackers.
Air pollution is a complex issue involving many factors (transport, industry, agriculture-waste burning).
The article warns that this compromise should not distract from action against other major sources of pollution.
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