Delhi govt bans firecrackers again till January 1

New Delhi: There will be a blanket ban on the production, sale and use of all types of firecrackers in the national capital, including on Diwali, till January 1, 2023, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Wednesday.

Rai said the ban extends to online sale of firecrackers. He, however, did not clarify when the restrictions will come into force.

"Production, storage, sale and use of all types of firecrackers are being completely banned so that people's lives can be saved," he tweeted.

This time there will also be a ban on the online sale and delivery of firecrackers in Delhi. The restriction will remain in force till January 1, 2023.

"Online sale/delivery of firecrackers will also be banned in Delhi this time. The restriction will remain in force till January 1, 2023," Rai said.

The minister said an action plan will be drawn up with the Delhi Police, Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and Revenue Department to ensure strict enforcement of the ban.

BJP leader Kapil Mishra said the Arvind Kejriwal government has failed to curb air pollution in Delhi and is now "showing off" by banning firecrackers.

"It has been proved in scientific reports and the court that firecrackers are not the source of pollution. When the Kejriwal government has failed to stop pollution in Delhi, why show off by banning firecrackers?" he tweeted in Hindi.

Last year, the Delhi government had announced a complete ban on firecrackers till January 1, 2022. It also ran an aggressive campaign against the sale and use of firecrackers which involved 15 special teams at the district level.

Neighbouring Haryana also imposed a ban on the sale or use of all kinds of firecrackers in 14 of its districts in the National Capital Region (NCR), while Uttar Pradesh allowed the use of green crackers on Diwali just for two hours in areas with moderate or better air quality.

Despite the restrictions, people burst firecrackers till late night in Delhi, Noida, Faridabad and Gurugram.

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

Emissions from firecrackers and farm fires had pushed the capital's 24-hour average air quality index for the day after Diwali to 462, the highest in five years.

Rai had then alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) instigated people to flout the ban on firecrackers on Diwali by linking it to religion.

The National Green Tribunal on December 2, 2020 had 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.

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

A cocktail of emissions from firecrackers on Diwali and stubble burning in neighbouring states makes it worse.

A study led by researchers from IIT-Delhi says that biomass burning emissions, rather than fireworks, drive the poor air quality in the national capital during the days following Diwali.

On Diwali day, 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, according to the Ministry of Earth Sciences' air quality forecaster SAFAR.