On Monday, September 11, the Delhi government reimposed a ban on the production, storage, sale, and utilization of firecrackers in the national capital, ahead of the upcoming festive season. At a press conference, Environment Minister, Gopal Rai, said that the move was part of a plan to curb air pollution in Delhi. The Delhi police, as per Rai, will be directed strictly to enforce the ban.
Rai said, ‘We have seen a considerable improvement in Delhi’s air quality in the last five-six years, but we have to improve it further. Therefore, we have decided to ban firecrackers this year, too.’
In 2022, the government announced that bursting firecrackers on Diwali in the city would attract a jail term of up to six months and a fine of Rs 200.
According to a January 2023 release by the Ministry of Forest, Environment and Climate Change, ‘The year 2022 witnessed three months (January, February and December) of the best ever daily average AQI and three months (July, October and November) with the second-best daily average AQI during the entire period from 2018 to 2022, even taking into account the Covid-affected low-activity years of 2020 and 2021.’
