The Supreme Court on Wednesday permitted the sale and use of green firecrackers in Delhi and the adjoining areas that form the National Capital Region, subject to conditions, The Hindu reported.

A bench of Chief Justice BR Gavai and Justice K Vinod Chandran allowed sales between October 18 and 21. It also restricted such sales to designated locations and limited the use of these firecrackers between 6 am-7 am and 8 pm-10 pm.

This year Diwali will be celebrated on October 20.

The court further directed the Central Pollution Control Board and the state pollution boards to monitor the air and water quality, and submit a report for the period between October 14 and October 21 on the impact of fireworks, the Hindustan Times reported.

It said that a total ban had proved counterproductive, leading to the smuggling of conventional firecrackers that caused far greater harm to air quality.

“Conventional firecrackers are smuggled, which causes more damage,” the Hindustan Times quoted the bench as saying. “We have to take a balanced approach.”

As a temporary arrangement, firecrackers can only be sold at designated points. Manufacturers will also face regular inspections and the QR codes of green crackers must be uploaded on official websites for traceability.

Sale of firecrackers through e-commerce platforms remains strictly prohibited.

Crackers from outside the National Capital Region will not be allowed and the licences of manufacturers found selling fake or non-compliant products will be suspended immediately, the Hindustan Times reported.

The bench said these measures were aimed at balancing the “sentiments of individuals during the festive season, livelihood concerns of the industry and the right to clean air”.

In an earlier hearing, the court had indicated that it might revisit its April 3 order, which had imposed a year-long ban on the manufacture, storage, sale and use of firecrackers in the National Capital Region.

In April, the court had ruled that the “so-called green crackers” would not be exempt from the ban, citing a Union government report stating that their emissions were only 30% lower than those of conventional crackers.

Green firecrackers are less polluting than regular ones as they are made with modified formulations and do not contain certain harmful elements such as lithium, arsenic, barium and lead.

On September 25, the court allowed green crackers to be manufactured in the Delhi-National Capital Region but underlined that their sale and storage within the region continued to be banned.

The ban on firecrackers in Delhi was introduced to curb the national capital’s severe winter pollution.

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta welcomed the court’s decision on Thursday, saying that the judgement “respects the sentiments and enthusiasm of the public during sacred festivals like Diwali, while also reflecting a balanced approach towards environmental protection”.

In a separate social media post, Gupta urged Delhi residents “to definitely use green firecrackers, but with responsibility and restraint”.

Air quality deteriorates sharply in the colder months in Delhi, which is often ranked the world’s most polluted capital. Stubble burning in Punjab and Haryana, along with falling temperatures, decreased wind speeds and emissions from industries and coal-fired plants contribute to the problem.

On Tuesday, the Commission for Air Quality Management imposed Stage 1 restrictions to control pollution in the National Capital Region under the Graded Response Action Plan after the air quality plummeted to the “poor” level.

GRAP is a set of incremental anti-pollution measures that are triggered to prevent further worsening of air quality once it reaches a certain threshold in the Delhi-NCR region.

The first stage involves measures such as the mechanical sweeping of roads and sprinkling water on them to keep the dust from rising. It also bans some kinds of construction and demolition activities.

Firecracker ban

On October 14, 2024, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee banned the production, storage, sale and use of all types of firecrackers in the national capital till January 1, 2025.

Despite this, firecrackers were lit across the city during Diwali festivities. On November 1, 2024, the morning after the festival, Delhi’s air pollution was recorded at 14 times the “safe” limit prescribed by the World Health Organization.

On November 4, 2024, the top court asked the Aam Aadmi Party government in power in Delhi at the time to consider a perpetual ban on firecrackers, stating that the restriction was hardly implemented in the national capital during Diwali.

On December 19, 2024, the Delhi government told the court that it had imposed a complete ban on firecrackers throughout the year.

Also read: Why some Delhi residents leave the city during Diwali

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