New Delhi, Nov 5, 2020-
The National Green Tribunal on Thursday reserved, till November 9, its order on the imposition of ban on fire crackers across 23 states and UTs amidst the double whammy of the pollution crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic.
Earlier this week, the NGT had sought response of the Union Environment Ministry, the governments of Delhi, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, and Rajasthan, the Central Pollution Control Board, the Delhi Police Commissioner and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee on whether the use of fire crackers should be banned from November 7 to 30.
On Wednesday, the tribunal expanded its ambit of hearing cases on pollution by use of firecrackers beyond the Delhi-NCR region and issued notices to 19 states and Union Territories where air quality is beyond norms.
“We have heard learned Amicus, Raj Panjwani, Senior Advocate, Mahesh Jethmalani, Senior Advocate appearing for the Indian Fireworks Manufacturers’ Association and learned Counsel appearing for the MoEF, CPCB and the States, UTs, PCBs, PCCs. Order reserved. Order will be uploaded on the website by 09.11.2020 at 10:30 a.m.,” a bench of NGT Chairperson, Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel (retd), stated.
The bench, also comprising Judicial Member S.K. Singh, and Expert Members Dr Nagin Nanda and S.S. Garbyal, was hearing various pleas seeking action against pollution by use of firecrackers during the time air quality is unsatisfactory with the potential of the severity of Covid-19 pandemic.
On Wednesday, alluding to 122 non-attainment cities in 23 states and Union Territories, which have been consistently showing poorer air quality, the green tribunal said that it may have to consider direction to prohibit use of fire crackers during the period air quality is beyond a threshold to protect the health of the vulnerable groups.
Non-attainment cities include Delhi, Varanasi, Bhopal, Kolkata, Noida, Muzaffarpur, Mumbai, Jammu, Ludhiana, Patiala, Ghaziabad, Varanasi, Kolkata, Patna, Gaya, Chandigarh etc. (Agency)
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