Delhi Bans All Fire Crackers Till 1st January, 2023: Not Even Green Crackers Allowed, Online Sales Banned

A complete ban on the production, sale and use of all types of firecrackers has been ordered by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee in the national capital till January 1.

For the last 2 years, the AAP government in Delhi has been following the practice of banning firecrackers in the winters. 

Now one would ask why the early announcement? The logic lies in buying more time to put in place a mechanism to check the illegal manufacturing, sale and use of firecrackers.

DPCC Order

As per the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) order, the ban extends to the online sale of firecrackers.

The order read that “There will be a complete ban on the manufacturing, storage, selling (including delivery through online marketing platforms) and bursting of all kinds of firecrackers up to January 1, 2023 (sic)”.

A complete ban on firecrackers till January 1, 2022 has been announced by Delhi government last year. Against the sale and use of firecrackers, an aggressive campaign was carried out involving 15 special teams at the district level.

A ban was imposed a ban on the sale or use of all kinds of firecrackers in 14 of its districts in the National Capital Region. On a bit different lines, Uttar Pradesh allowed the use of green crackers on Diwali just for two hours in areas with moderate or better air quality.

However, despite to the restrictions levied, people burst firecrackers till late at night in Delhi, Noida, Faridabad and Gurugram during festivities such as Diwali.  

The Decreased Air Quality Index

According to the DPCC, the fireworks had led to major changes in PM10 and PM2.5 concentrations in Delhi on Diwali night (November 4, 2021).

Due to this as well as farm fires, the air quality index pushed the capital’s 24-hour average to 462 on the day after Diwali. This was highest in five years.

There have been rounds of allegation wherein the Delhi Environment Minister Gopal Rai blamed BJP that they instigated people to flout the ban on firecrackers on Diwali by linking it to religion.

On December 2, 2020 National Green Tribunal ordered a total ban on the sale and use of all kinds of firecrackers in the NCR and all cities with poor or worse ambient air quality.

A total ban on the sale and use of all kinds of firecrackers in the NCR and all cities was ordered by the National Green Tribunal on December 2, 2020.

Due to unfavourable meteorological factors such as low temperatures and wind speed which do not allow dispersion of pollutants, the air quality in Delhi and neighbouring areas start worsening in October.

However, it was due to the biomass burning emissions than fireworks that led to the poor air quality in the national capital during the days following Diwali, according to the study led by researchers from IIT-Delhi.

According to the Ministry of Earth Sciences’ air quality forecaster SAFAR, the stubble burning accounted for 25 per cent of PM2.5 pollution in Delhi in 2021; 32 per cent in 2020 and 19 per cent in 2019 on Diwali last year.