SC issues slew of directions on green crackers issue

New Delhi, Oct 15 (PTI) The following are the interim directions issued by the Supreme Court on Wednesday while permitting the sale and bursting of green firecrackers in Delhi and the National Capital Region during Diwali.

*Sale of green crackers, as uploaded on the website of NEERI shall be permitted from October 18 to October 20, the Diwali day.

*Sale of green crackers shall be permitted only from designated locations in NCR which shall be identified by District Collectors in consultation with the Superintendent of Police and given wide publicity.

* Police authorities, in consultation with the district administration, shall constitute patrolling teams to keep a vigil on designated locations of sale.

*Officers nominated by pollution control boards of NCR states will be part of patrolling teams.

*The patrol teams constituted shall acquaint themselves with the green cracker products as uploaded in the website of NEERI (National Environmental Engineering Research Institute) and the registrations granted as also QR Codes issued to individual manufacturers.

*Patrol teams shall conduct regular reconnaissance in the designated sites to ensure that only the permitted products shall be sold and that too having the QR Codes issued.

*They shall also take random samples for the purpose of analysis, which shall be transmitted to PESO.

*In case of violations noticed, the licenses of manufacturers shall stand cancelled *District administration and police shall ensure that use of firecrackers is confined between 6:00 AM to 7:00 AM and 8:00 PM to 10:00 PM on the two days i.e., the one before and on the Diwali day.

*The sale shall be only through licensed traders and of green crackers manufactured by those who are registered with the NEERI and obtained license from PESO (Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation). *Any firecrackers seized which are not manufactured by the registered/licensed manufacturers shall be immediately confiscated.

*There shall be no firecrackers allowed into the NCR region from outside the said region.

*The use of firecrackers with Barium and those not approved by the NEERI as green crackers, shall not be permitted and if found for sale or in the possession of individuals/traders, the same shall be confiscated immediately.

*There shall be no manufacture or sale of firecrackers joined in series (laris).

*There shall be no sale or purchase of firecrackers through ecommerce networks and any supply of such products shall be detained and the product confiscated.

*The licences of traders, expired or cancelled after the ban was introduced, shall be renewed for the period stipulated by the statutory authorities.

*The Central Pollution Control Board, in consultation with the State Pollution Control Boards and their respective regional offices within the districts coming under the NCR shall monitor the AQI in their respective jurisdictions starting from October 14 till October 25 and file a report specifying the AQI of each day.

*Along with such monitoring the regional offices of the SPCBs shall also take samples of sand and water from sites having more density of use for analysis.

*SC makes clear that the relaxation is only on a test case basis and the same shall be only for the period specified. PTI SJK ZMN