The apex court on Tuesday directed that only “green firecrackers” would be sold and refused to impose a blanket ban on firecrackers across the nation.
“Green firecrackers” are low emission crackers that cause 30-35% lower emission of particulate matter and 35-40% lower emission of sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide.
The court has eventually restricted the bursting of crackers between 8pm to 10pm on Diwali and weddings while a separate slot has been set for Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations- 11:55pm to 12:30am- throughout the country.
Online sale of crackers has been banned and selling of ‘laris’ or chain firecrackers have been prohibited.
Following this, the firecracker manufacturers had opposed the ban saying there is nothing called “green” crackers and that the ban would affect their livelihood and also their overall revenue.