As the festive season draws closer, it’s time to remind ourselves to keep off firecrackers

The festival season is upon us and the Supreme Court is engaged with what is becoming a seasonal hearing about a ban on firecrackers because they are dangerous pollutants. The court said on Tuesday that the manufacturers were violating the spirit of its 2018 judgment banning the use of toxic substances, like barium, in fireworks. Three years ago, the court allowed the manufacture of only green firecrackers or those with reduced emission. It banned the use of barium salt, which is used in the manufacture of most firecrackers. The court called its order an act to strike a balance between the right to public health and the right to occupation of the fireworks industry. The following year, the same court said: “We cannot give money or jobs or support people who will lose their jobs if we shut down firecrackers manufacturing units... We do not want to generate unemployment.” This was at a hearing where the manufacturers pointed out two things. One, there was no consensus on the chemical composition of green crackers and, two, that the court should wait for a definitive study that firecrackers do pollute the atmosphere around Diwali. Last December, the National Green Tribunal clamped a total ban on the sale and use of all kinds of firecrackers in the country in view of the COVID-19 pandemic situation. The relief was that the ban will be in force in places where the ambient air quality fell under the “poor” category.

In September, Delhi imposed a complete ban on storage, sale and use of all types of firecrackers and the traders were told to avoid stocking up. The Delhi Pollution Control Committee followed it up with an order extending the ban till January 1, 2022, to reduce winter smog and pollution levels. There seem to be as many orders on firecrackers as there are institutions. However, what is absent is a national firecracker policy that takes into account; (one), the pollution levels and the right to life, (two), the threat to firecracker employees and the right to occupation, and (three), the necessity of green crackers completely replacing the polluting fireworks. Instead, there is an unending blame game. If the production does not begin, at least eight lakh employees, mostly in Tamil Nadu, will starve. To the manufacturers, it means huge losses as the raw material remains unused. To the traders, it is about languishing stocks of firecrackers that cannot be sold. The court correctly observed on Tuesday that it cannot infringe upon the right to life of citizens “under the guise of employment of a few” while considering a ban on firecrackers. However, the court should consider that the challenge of tackling pollution and the demands of clean air dictate a ban on firecrackers and nothing less. The only debate is about rehabilitating the lakhs of people whose lives depend on the fireworks trade. This equation is yet to draw serious attention from the Government and the courts.