Bursting of firecrackers will only be allowed for two hours, said an order by CPCB (Representative Image) | Photo Credit: BCCL

New Delhi: In the wake of a Supreme Court order issued earlier this year, the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has instructed the Delhi Police to ensure that the apex court's order is complied with. SP Singh Parihar, chairperson of CPCB issued a notice to the police commissioner asking him to impose the Supreme Court's stipulated period of two hours for the bursting of firecrackers.

The order which was issued by the top court ahead of Diwali celebrations was aimed at reducing air pollution in the national capital. However, despite strict instructions from stakeholders including the Supreme Court, Diwali day saw brazen violations of the order where people were seen bursting firecrackers outside of the stipulated two-hour period. At the time, a bench of the country's top court had also directed vendors to sell only 'green crackers' across the national capital region.

Received 271 calls on the night of Diwali. B/w 8 pm-12 am we received 125 calls. B/w 6 pm-6 am we received 226 calls. It means the 2 hrs allotted by SC wasn't very effective, crackers were burst till morning. No.of calls this Diwali was more than last yr: Dir, Delhi Fire Services pic.twitter.com/L9vr27l3wr — ANI (@ANI) November 8, 2018

Following Diwali celebrations, CPCB had sought an explanation from the Delhi police commissioner over the rampant violation of the apex court order. In response, the top official stated that city police officials arrested as many as 613 people for violating the 'cracker ban' order and even seized 8,286 kg of explosives in the process. The CPCB has sought a response from the police on the issue by January 7.

Air quality across Delhi-NCR worsened in 2018 as compared to previous years. In fact, relevant authorities such as the Supreme Court, the National Green Tribunal (NGT), the CPCB and the Delhi government implemented a Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) aimed at improving the air quality. Ironically, Delhi's air quality reached "severe-plus emergency" category in the wake of Diwali celebrations in November of this year which is ten times the permissible limit.

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