9 days to D-Day: The fault in Centre’s ‘green cracker’ plan

Even as the Supreme Court is expected to clear the decks for “green fireworks” under the Centre's new guidelines next week, experts warn that Delhi may simply not be equipped to enforce them — especially with barely ten days left for Diwali.

- Jasjeev Gandhiok and Snehil Sinha

The Centre's framework aims to ensure only so-called “green” crackers reach markets. But the infrastructure to make that happen testing labs, certification systems, and on-ground inspection - is almost nonexistent, experts warned. Enforcement officials are stretched, verification apps have already been compromised, and fake “green” labels are common.

Most worryingly, Delhi’s past attempts to regulate crackers have failed miserably. Despite years of bans, the city’s skies have turned grey every Diwali night.

“We have seen even when green firecrackers were allowed in the past, that conventional firecrackers were being burst. QR codes did not help and agencies simply turned a blind-eye,” said environmental activist Bhavreen Kandhari.

Under the plan submitted to the Supreme Court, only companies certified by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) and the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) can manufacture green crackers. Sales will be restricted to licensed vendors, each product linked to a QR code traceable to the manufacturer.

In practice, experts warned that it will be nearly almost impossible to implement. For starters, the Capital has no dedicated testing facility to confirm which firecrackers are genuinely “green.” The city’s enforcement teams — Delhi Police, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCO), and local authorities - are already overstretched. Meanwhile, the QR verification, designed to flag fake products, will have to be impossible to clone.