The Supreme Court on Tuesday said the Delhi government was being “lethargic” about taking proactive steps to counter air pollution.

It said the government has been content giving “general directions” which is “mere paperwork”. There is zero information about the success or failure of its campaigns, if at all undertaken, against bursting of firecrackers.

Complete prohibition

A Bench of Justices Madan B. Lokur and Deepak Gupta pulled up the Delhi government and other States whose parts come within the National Capital Region (NCR), in a judgment which modifies the November 2016 ban on sale of firecrackers.

The court has now opted for a gradual, graded approach to complete prohibition of the sale and use of fireworks in the NCR over the next few years. The court issued a slew of directions to the authorities for regulating the sale of fireworks in the NCR.

“There is no doubt that the air we breathe gets polluted by bursting of fireworks. The extent of air pollution caused by bursting fireworks is not clear in the absence of empirical data – it could be severe or it could be marginal, but it is there,” the court observed.

“Have the steps already taken by the concerned authorities reduced air pollution during Diwali? It seems to us that the steps so far taken by the Government of NCT of Delhi are limited to issuing directions, which is merely paperwork. No specific plan of action has been laid down by the Government of NCTD to make children aware of the hazards of bursting fireworks and the existing awareness campaigns have been allowed to drift over the last one year,” the apex court observed.

The court said it was high time the authorities realise that the cost of ill health (particularly among children) is far greater in psycho-social terms than in financial and economic terms.

The Delhi Police also came under fire from the court, which said the directions issued by the former are difficult to enforce such as restricting the time during which crackers can be burst.

“We must note that there has been no response from the States within the NCR giving the impression that air pollution is not a problem for the State governments despite the ill-effects and health hazards of bursting fireworks… unless urgent steps are taken, there could be an adverse impact on the health of children,” the court warned the authorities.