No alternative to Green Diwali

The clarification by the Supreme Court that its directive banning high-decibel and air-polluting firecrackers containing barium is binding on all states and not just Delhi and the National Capital Region has made it clear that only “green crackers” can be allowed to be sold for Diwali celebration. The apex court has put the onus on citizens and said that the bursting of harmful firecrackers can never be stopped unless people themselves do it. Building awareness among people about green crackers has to be supplemented with efforts by the States to make those available in the market and simultaneously enforce the SC ban on other firecrackers. Compared to conventional firecrackers, green crackers reduce the emission of particulate matter (PM 2.5) by a minimum of 30%, PM by 20%, and gaseous emissions by 10%. These also make a sound of 110 to 125 decibels, compared to the 160 decibel sound of conventional firecrackers. Besides, the water vapour released during the bursting of green crackers reduces dust emission. Evidently, green crackers do not reduce the fun of the Diwali celebration but play a crucial role in reducing pollution, which needs to be acknowledged. Registration of green cracker manufacturing units by the CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute has increased to 1083, which has brightened hopes for the availability of green crackers in India. The latest SC directive is rooted in the judgement passed by it in 2018 on a petition filed in 2015 seeking a ban on the use, in any form, of firecrackers, sparkles, and minor explosives during festivals or otherwise. The SC also emphasised the duty of the state to ensure a healthy environment in terms of Article 48A of the Constitution of India as well as the duty of citizens to ensure the same under Article 51A(g) of the Constitution. The petitioners’ argument was based on the premise that, as a result of the burning of crackers during Diwali, PM2.5 reached an alarmingly high level, which certainly is injurious to health. They also argued that the adverse effect on the health of citizens, particularly children, is irreversible. It causes asthma, coughing, bronchitis, retarded nervous system breakdown, and even cognitive impairment. The manufacturers opposing the petition submitted counterarguments that the burning of crackers during Diwali does not have any significant adverse affect on the environment. It was also argued that there is no study that has come to such a conclusion. They cited “The Deepawali Monitoring Report, 2017 of CPCB” and contended that the factors that contributed to the problem in Delhi and NCR were not crackers burning during Diwali. Ambient air quality before and after Diwali reflects that there was no spike immediately after Diwali. The respondents admitted that the situation of air pollution in Delhi and NCR was ‘generally’ worrying but insisted that multiple causes lead to polluting air, and such a position existed even before Diwali, which showed that other factors played a dominant role. The court noted that the content of the argument was that in the absence of any definite study attributing the worsening of air quality to the fireworks during Diwali, the right of the manufacturers and traders under Article 19(1)(g), which is a fundamental right to carry on trade, should not be made to suffer till the time there is a complete study. The SC, however, stated in the judgement that in environmental law, ‘precautionary principle’ is one of the well-recognised principles that is followed to save the environment and that this principle does not need exact tudies or material. “The very word ‘precautionary’ indicates that such a measure is taken by way of precaution, which can be resorted to even in the absence of definite studies,” SC ruled, which put the spotlight on key legal aspects of the directive. Beyond the legal aspects, there are environmental aspects in the context of rising atmospheric pollution levels in cities and towns that need greater consideration by citizens as they are directly linked to their health and the quality of the atmosphere around them. When multiple factors have led to deterioration of air quality, it will be unwise to ignore the hard realities of pollution caused by conventional crackers and indulge in bursting them instead of taking a conscious decision to replace those with eco-friendly green crackers. State governments and non-governmental organisations intensifying their awareness drives will go a long way in convincing more people to contribute less emissions while celebrating Diwali. The challenge for sensible people is not to let the festival of light become a festival of sound and air pollution. Demand-side intervention by a growing number of conscious people will automatically lead to the replacement of conventional crackers with green crackers by manufacturers. The adverse impact of climate change needs to be kept in mind, and every effort that contributes to reducing harmful emissions must be encouraged. There is no alternative to the self-imposition of following Green Diwali codes.