Green crackers in Delhi this Diwali: Timings, rules and how to spot a real one

Green crackers in Delhi and the National Capital Region will be allowed for two days this Diwali, but only at fixed hours and under strict conditions, the Supreme Court has ruled. The order, dated 29 October and made public on Monday (2 November), temporarily relaxes the year-round firecracker ban in Delhi-NCR. Here is what it means.

When can you burst green crackers? Only between 6 am and 7 am, and between 8 pm and 10 pm, on 7 and 8 November, the day before Diwali and Diwali itself. The complete ban on firecrackers returns from 9 November. The order was passed by a Bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Prasanna B. Varale.

Where are crackers not allowed? Nowhere within 300 metres of hospitals, nursing homes, primary and district health centres, old-age homes, notified silence zones and educational institutions. These are to be declared ‘No-Cracker Zones’, marked on the ground and publicised.

What counts as a green cracker? Only crackers certified by the government’s CSIR-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) and the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO). Certified manufacturers may make only those green crackers that have been uploaded on the CSIR-NEERI website, from 2 to 6 November. Crackers containing barium, and crackers joined in a series, known as ‘ladis’, or garlands, remain banned.

How do you spot a real one? Check the box. It must be fully sealed and carry a QR code issued for that specific product and batch. Scanning it should show the manufacturer, the NEERI registration, the PESO or district magistrate licence, the formulation and the test certificate. Only crackers with product-specific QR codes can be sold, and selling QR codes is treated as a violation that leads to cancellation of the registration licence.

Where can you buy them? Only at locations designated by district collectors in consultation with the police. Sales anywhere else, including online, are banned. Traders whose licences were cancelled get them back only from 4 to 6 November to sell approved green crackers, and lose them immediately if they break the rules.

What if the rules are broken? Police patrol teams are to watch the sale points, check QR codes at random, seize illegal or conventional crackers and prosecute offending manufacturers and traders. Manufacturers and traders must also deposit security money, which will be forfeited if they violate the order.

Why did the court relax the ban? The judges said that “though imposition of a blanket ban seems to be the ideal solution”, the court was “short of adequate data to decide whether or not a complete ban would be the best solution” to pollution from firecrackers. They also noted that conventional crackers were being sold “under the guise of Green Crackers” despite the ban.

That problem has not gone away. Hours after the order became public, The Hindu found traditional firecrackers being sold discreetly in Old Delhi’s Sadar Bazar and Jama Masjid markets, some without the required QR codes.

The relief comes as Delhi’s air turns worse. Delhi’s AQI hit 324, in the ‘very poor’ range, on Monday, and Stage 2 of the anti-pollution plan GRAP is now in force across the region. The Indian Idiot explained what GRAP Stage 2 means here.