New Delhi. The Supreme Court today directed the Delhi government and other NCR states (Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan) to take a final decision on banning the use of firecrackers throughout the year. The Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Augustine George Masih has asked the states to place their decisions before the apex court. While hearing the case related to air pollution in Delhi, the court said that a complete ban on firecrackers is necessary to curb not only air pollution but also noise pollution.
The bench said that the issue of ban on use of firecrackers in the NCR states has not been given special attention so far. We direct the respective State Governments to give their decisions regarding complete ban on the use of firecrackers throughout the year. The court said that this would also include a ban on the manufacture, storage, sale and distribution of firecrackers. Earlier during the hearing, the Supreme Court had reprimanded the Delhi Government and Delhi Police for not strictly implementing the order of ban on firecrackers on Diwali.
The Supreme Court had said that not just Diwali, we are considering a complete ban on firecrackers for the entire year. In this regard, the court had commented that no religion encourages any activity that causes pollution. The Supreme Court had raised the question that in the last few years, firecrackers are banned in Delhi a few days before Diwali but that order is not strictly followed. For this, the court had also sought an answer from the Delhi Police Commissioner. The Supreme Court had also reprimanded the AAP government of Punjab for burning stubble by farmers.
