In an effort to reduce air and noise pollution, the Delhi government has banned the sale, manufacture, storage, and use of firecrackers for a whole year. The Supreme Court, which was considering appeals for stricter laws to reduce air pollution in the Delhi-NCR area, took note of this ruling. Delhi enforces a complete cracker ban as a decisive measure to combat worsening air quality. The bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Augustine George Masih instructed other NCR states to follow Delhi’s lead, emphasizing the need for a coordinated strategy to ensure successful outcomes.

Delhi Enforces Complete Cracker Ban: Supreme Court’s Mandate for NCR States

After Delhi enforced a complete cracker ban, Uttar Pradesh expressed reluctance to prohibit firecrackers completely. In contrast, Rajasthan declared a complete ban on its NCR regions, while Haryana stated it would only allow green crackers. The Supreme Court made it clear that for the time being, Haryana, Delhi, and Uttar Pradesh should all be subject to the same firecracker prohibition. Given that the region’s air quality has been alternating between “very poor” and “severe” levels, the Supreme Court underlined the need to take such actions to address both air and noise pollution.

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Additional Measures Under GRAP-IV Restrictions

The Supreme Court ordered all NCR states to severely enforce Stage IV limitations under the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) in addition to the firecracker ban. These limits include suspending building and demolition operations, banning non-essential cargo trucks from entering Delhi, and giving subsistence payments to workers affected by these bans. The court directed governments to deploy specialized teams to ensure efficient enforcement and to identify affected workers without relying solely on portal registrations.

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