look news india
As Diwali, the great festival of lights and joy, is coming closer, the buzz regarding Air Quality Index (AQI), pollution levels and court restrictions has intensified in the country’s capital Delhi and the entire National Capital Region i.e. NCR. Like every year, this time too with the onset of winter, the threat of haze and poisonous smog has started looming in the air of Delhi. In such a situation, the Supreme Court and the local administration have taken a big and balanced decision while striking a balance between maintaining environmental balance and respecting the religious sentiments of the people. The administration has made it clear that the complete ban on traditional, chemical and loud heavy firecrackers will remain as strict as before. However, giving relief to the general public, conditional approval has been granted for limited and controlled use of only scientifically proven green firecrackers. With this permission, the administration has also given a strong message that immediate punitive action will be taken against those who ignore even the slightest of the rules under various sections of the Environment Protection Act and the Indian Justice Code.
This step is considered extremely necessary in view of the serious situation of air pollution in the areas of Delhi, Noida, Ghaziabad, Gurugram and Faridabad. Amidst the joy of the festival, protecting the health of the elderly, newborn babies and chronic respiratory patients has become the top priority of the administration. Clear instructions have been given to the police and local administrative units to deploy special flying squads for surveillance in markets and residential colonies. If any person is found storing, selling or using firecrackers without permission, his stock will be confiscated along with heavy fine and legal case will be filed. In such a situation, it has become mandatory for every citizen planning to spread happiness with the lighting of lamps in this festive season to know when, where and how they can burst crackers.
The administration has set a very limited and strict time table for fireworks in Delhi-NCR to prevent the levels of PM 2.5 and PM 10 in the air from reaching dangerous levels. Under the fixed rules, burning of green crackers will be legally permitted in the entire NCR region only on November 7 and November 8, 2026. Using any kind of fireworks on any day before or after these two scheduled dates will be completely illegal and considered a punishable offense. People who start bursting crackers several days before the festival are being monitored through drones and patrolling teams.
Not only this, they have not been given free rein to burst crackers all day long or at any time as per their wish. For this, only two limited time slots have been set in 24 hours. The first slot has been kept for only one hour in the morning, which will be from 6:00 am to 7:00 am. The second slot has been fixed for night time, under which bursting of green crackers will be allowed for only two hours from 8:00 pm to 10:00 pm. Thus, fireworks will be allowed only for three hours in the whole day. As soon as Diwali is over, a complete and strict ban will once again be imposed on the purchase, sale, transportation and use of firecrackers from the morning of 9 November 2026.
In order to earn more profits during the festive season, many shopkeepers and black marketers sell ordinary chemical firecrackers in fake packing to customers by calling them green crackers. To protect common citizens from this fraud, the government and scientific institutions have set very transparent security standards. Genuine green crackers are those which have been prepared on the formulation developed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research – National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) and which have been issued a manufacturing license after due testing by the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organization (PESO). Neeri and Peso’s official security hologram and logo are clearly printed on every authorized box of Genuine Green Crackers.
The most important identification is the unique and non-transferable QR Code present on the box. Consumers can instantly scan that code with their smartphone camera or any QR scanner app while shopping in the market. As soon as the code is scanned, the name of the manufacturer of that product, valid registration number of Neeri, license number of Peso, chemical composition of the firecracker and the official test certificate of the concerned batch will appear on the mobile screen. If a packet does not have a QR code or the description does not match when the code is scanned, then understand that the product is illegal and fake. The biggest feature of real green firecrackers is that they do not use deadly chemicals like barium salt, barium nitrate, mercury, lead and arsenic. Their burning produces 30 to 40 percent less smoke and harmful gases as compared to normal firecrackers. Apart from this, long sticks or Ghinni (connected fireworks) available in the market are completely banned as they cause excessive air and noise pollution.
To protect the health of the weak and sensitive sections of the society from danger, the administration has set strict limits of ‘No-Cracker Zone’. A radius of 300 meters around all government and private hospitals, clinics, nursing homes, maternity centers and health centers in Delhi-NCR has been declared as complete silence and no-cracker zone. It will be strictly illegal to burn any kind of firecracker within these limits so that the admitted patients do not face any problem due to loud noise and smoke. The same restriction will also be strictly enforced within a radius of 300 meters around all primary schools, high schools, colleges, university campuses, coaching centres, old-age homes and orphanages.
Apart from this, people who want to easily order firecrackers at home have also got a big shock. The administration has issued a clear order that sale and home delivery of firecrackers through any e-commerce website, social media page or online delivery app is completely illegal in the geographical area of Delhi-NCR. If any courier agency or delivery boy is found carrying a parcel of firecrackers, the license of the company will be canceled and legal action will be taken against the person concerned. Firecrackers can be purchased in person only from the shops of authorized retailers having temporary licenses issued by the district administration and police. In this festive season, the administration has appealed to all the citizens to become conscious and responsible citizens so that the joy of tradition remains and the climate of Delhi-NCR also remains breathable.