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Supreme Court Permits Green Crackers in Delhi-NCR

03 Nov 2026

Tags: Prelims   Current events of national and international importance

Source: The Hindu

Context: Supreme Court conditionally permitted certified green crackers during Deepavali to balance religious practices with environmental and public health concerns.

  • Permitted timings: 6–7 AM and 8–10 PM on November 7–8 in Delhi-NCR.
  • No-cracker zones: Within 300 metres of hospitals, healthcare centres, old-age homes, educational institutions and notified silence zones.
  • Certification: Only green crackers certified by CSIR-NEERI and PESO permitted.
  • Restrictions: No manufacture or sale of joined firecrackers (ladis); only QR-code-enabled crackers allowed.
  • Environmental concerns: Firecrackers increase AQI, particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), air and noise pollution, adversely affecting vulnerable groups.

Constitutional Provisions

  • Article 25(1): Freedom of conscience and right to profess, practise and propagate religion, subject to public order, morality and health.
  • Article 21: Right to life includes the right to a healthy and pollution-free environment.

Key Organisations

  • CSIR-NEERI: Research institute under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), working in environmental science and engineering.
  • PESO: Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation; regulates safety aspects of explosives, petroleum and related hazardous substances under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Green crackers: Developed to reduce emissions and harmful pollutants compared to conventional firecrackers; generally contain reduced quantities of particulate matter and harmful chemicals.

Prelims Question

Q1. With reference to green crackers and their regulation in India, consider the following statements:

  1. Green crackers are designed to reduce emissions and harmful pollutants compared to conventional firecrackers.
  2. CSIR-NEERI is associated with the environmental assessment and development of green crackers.
  3. PESO is responsible for certifying the environmental performance of green crackers, while CSIR-NEERI regulates their explosives-related safety.
  4. QR-code-based identification can help verify the authenticity of permitted green crackers.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 1, 2 and 4 only
(c) 2, 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 3 and 4 only

Answer: (b) 

Explanation:

  • Statement 1 is Correct: Green crackers aim to reduce particulate emissions and harmful chemicals.
  • Statement 2 is Correct: CSIR-NEERI has been associated with the development and environmental assessment of green crackers.
  • Statement 3 is Incorrect: The roles are reversed. CSIR-NEERI is associated with environmental assessment, while PESO deals with explosives-related safety and regulation.
  • Statement 4 is Correct: QR codes help identify and verify certified products.

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