Will Implement Environmental Court Order On Crackers: Maharashtra To High Court

The Maharashtra government on Thursday informed the Bombay High Court that it would implement the National Green Tribunal's (NGT) order banning firecrackers in districts where the air quality index was poor or worse.

A division bench headed by Justice A K Menon accepted the statement and disposed of a public interest litigation filed by a Pune resident seeking a complete ban on firecrackers in the state from November 10 to November 20.

In his petition Aniruddha Deshpande, who runs a "Right to Breathe" campaign, stated that air quality is poor in several districts of the state, and he also raised concerns over the COVID-19 pandemic.

The petition stated that air pollution caused by firecrackers directly affects the respiratory tract and highlighted that three states in the country had already issued ban on them.

Government pleader P P Kakade on Thursday informed the court that the state government has issued a letter to all concerned officers for implementing the NGT order "in letter and spirit".

The court accepted this statement and disposed of the petition.

The NGT's Delhi bench had on November 9 passed an order banning the use of firecrackers in cities and towns where the air quality index was "poor" or "worse".

The NGT order had stated that in places where the ambient air quality fell under the "moderate" or below category, the sale of "green" crackers would be permitted and timings for bursting crackers would be restricted to two hours.