Bhubaneswar: The National Green Tribunal (NGT) Monday asked the state government and the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on the measures taken by them to ensure proper enforcement of the Supreme Court restrictions on firecrackers. While hearing a plea filed by environmentalist Sanjay Kumar Nayak through advocate Sankar Prasad Pani, the Eastern Zone Bench of the environment watchdog has served notices on the Chief Secretary, Director General of Police, Odisha State Pollution Control Board Member Secretary, CPCB Member Secretary, Shree Jagannath Temple Administration Chief Administrator, Special Relief Commissioner and Deputy Chief Controller of Explosives seeking their responses in connection with the issue within six weeks.
The petitioner had informed the NGT that the apex court had banned the production and sale of all crackers except ‘green crackers’. It also banned the manufacture and sale of ‘joined crackers’, prohibited the use of barium salts in fireworks and said their noise levels should be within permissible limits. The court also banned their online sales and directed that they can be sold only through licensed traders and laid down the time schedule for bursting on various occasions. This apart, the Special Relief Commissioner (SRC), Odisha had, in October 2021, ordered similar restrictions on firecrackers. The authorities, however, have failed to ensure proper enforcement of the restrictions, the petitioner said. Citing examples, the petitioner said to counter growing air pollution, a National Clean Action Plan (NCAP) was made operational in 2018.
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Under the plan, all cities have to meet National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). Those who do not meet these standards are termed non-attainment cities. In all, CPCB identified 102 non-attainment cities in the country. Of these, seven – Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Angul, Talcher, Balasore, Kalinganagar and Rourkela – are in Odisha. In these cities, the ambient air quality does not meet NAAQS with respect to PM10 and PM2.5. Therefore, any kind of use of fi firecrackers will further deteriorate the air quality in all such cities, and the NGT has prohibited the use of firecrackers there. “However, despite the SC and NGT restrictions, especially in the non-attainment cities, people in Bhubaneswar last year used fi firecrackers even after 10pm. The ambient air quality following the day of Diwali exceeded 900ppm,” the petitioner said. Apart from highlighting the ill effects of firecrackers on the environment, the petitioner also pointed out some instances where cracker mishaps led to loss of human lives. “Many people lost their lives in the fi firecracker mishap during Chandan Yatra in Puri this year,” he said, seeking the NGT’s intervention into the issue.