Paradoxical though that caption may appear, it is precisely what the “doctor ordered”. Opinion, however, will be sharply divided over the apex court’s lifting the blanket ban imposed last November on the sale of fireworks in the National Capital Region and replacing it with a strict regulatory regime. Those who relish a splash of “sparkle and bang” with their celebrations would concur with the court that a total ban was “extreme”, yet others who choked and came close to suffocation after Diwali last year will contend that “regulations” seldom have the desired effect.
They would also note a recent observation from the court that there were enough fireworks in the region “for an army”. The decision of the court that the situation would be reviewed after the festive season might also spark some dismay ~ it may be a case of “shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted”.
The court has put a “cap” on the number of temporary licences to be issued for the sale of fireworks, fixed responsibility for ensuring compliance. The sceptics would insist that with lavish spending on fireworks having become part of the wealth-flaunting culture, ways are sure to be found to beat the system, and also point to the court slamming the Delhi government for ensuring that regulations remained on paper only.
What will be widely welcomed is their Lordships Madan B Lokur and Deepak Gupta directing the Central Pollution Control Board and the Fireworks Development Research Centre to study the impact of fireworks on the quality or air and make suitable recommendations ~ thus far there has been no comprehensive study, “information” furnished by often hysterical environmentalists have swayed public opinion.
The apex court has done well to observe that fireworks were alone not the cause of the difficulties experienced last Diwali. “Freak” weather conditions had trapped the toxic fumes, preventing their dissipation.
The prognosis for the weeks ahead is not very encouraging: the burning of crop stubble remains a major problem in the agricultural belt around the NCR and the authorities in Haryana, UP and Punjab have pleaded helplessness in the absence of a more economically viable way of removing the stubble of the kharif crop (primarily paddy straw) to prepare the fields for sowing the rabi. Penal action against farmers is stoutly resisted, both by the farmers and their political lobby which points to the agriculture sector already being in distress.
There has been no reduction in motor-vehicles in the NCR, fuel quality remains problematic and emission-levels can be “felt” during the cool season.
The Delhi government’s “odd-even” project never progressed beyond an experimental stage, and the Central and state governments cannot get their act together. As for “muted fireworks” a test will be how noisy will be burning of the effigies on Dussehra that heralds the Diwali “bangs”.