Cracking pollution: Green fireworks are not India's long-term solution

Delhi has the distinction of being the world’s second-most polluted city. Yet the city-state’s government plans to move the Supreme Court to allow the bursting of “green crackers” on Diwali, with the chief minister arguing that the festival is one of the “most significant in Indian culture”. This is a remarkably open abdication of concern for public health by elected persons in the interests of “culture”. The move also reflects a wilful disregard for the extreme air pollution, which descends on the area as the cooler weather sets in, with factors such as agricultural stubble burning adding to the toxic winter air in the National Capital Region (NCR). There has been good reason for the Supreme Court to ban firecrackers in Delhi.

 

Burning crackers during the paroxysms of celebrations that erupt during Diwali and continue after the festival add significantly to the pungent particulate matter in the air. The apex court in 2020 banned the use of firecrackers in Delhi. But the order made little difference because it could not be properly enforced. Last year, the Supreme Court went further and imposed a year-round ban on firecrackers in Delhi. At the same time, it pulled up the Delhi Police and the state government and ordered them to demonstrate what actions they had taken to enforce the ban. In response, the Delhi government issued a notification imposing a year-round ban on the manufacturing, sale and bursting of firecrackers in the city in December last year. An appeal by firecracker manufacturers to ease the ban in April this year was declined but in September the Supreme Court allowed the manufacture of “green crackers” in the Delhi-NCR provided they were not sold in the NCR.

 

The fact is, however, that the term “green cracker” is a misnomer. A paper published by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research and the National Environment Engineering Research Institute notes that the crackers are not entirely pollution-free but are safer than traditional fireworks, which emit lead, cadmium, and barium nitrate when burnt. They also emit less noise than a traditional cracker. That said, green crackers also emit fine particles, which are harmful. All told, they are said to be about 30 per cent less toxic than conventional firecrackers, which is wholly insufficient in a season when low temperatures and wind speeds are not enough to disperse the additional pollution. So allowing them in Delhi will not solve the problem. In any case, given that the ban on firecrackers has been observed mostly in the breach, it is unclear as to who will ensure that only green crackers are sold or whether it is possible to do so in the myriad unlicensed shops and bazaars that sell crackers during the festival season. Firecracker manufacturers have argued that their livelihood must be protected. It is difficult to protect livelihoods that are so deeply harmful to public health. Instead of arguing for the dubious benefits of green crackers, the healthier option for the Delhi government would be to seek ways to create alternative livelihoods for workers in the firecracker industry.