SC’s no to firecracker ban, slams Centre’s apathy

Refusing a blanket ban on firecrackers this Diwali, the Supreme Court on Wednesday expressed displeasure over the Centre’s failure to carry out its earlier directive to give wide publicity to the ill-effects of bursting crackers, including sound and air pollution. The Union government has not complied with the October 16 order, the SC said, taking a dim view of the Centre’s inaction on the issue so far. An Apex Court Bench of Chief Justice HL Dattu and Justice Arun Mishra asked the Centre and other authorities to launch a publicity campaign both in print and electronic media on the harmful effects of firecrackers during the festival season from October 31 to November 12. The court reiterated its earlier order of 2005, prohibiting bursting of firecrackers during night hours from 10.00 pm to 6 am. “When we passed our October 16 order, we intended it to be carried out and advertisements published continuously,” the court observed as Solicitor General Ranjit Kumar told the Bench that advertisements were ready and would be published before Diwali. The Bench questioned the efficacy of such ads, saying: “You publish (the ads) one fine morning. When we passed that order, we intended it to be published continuously.”