{"id":55383,"date":"2025-09-27T20:36:38","date_gmt":"2025-09-27T15:06:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=55383"},"modified":"2025-09-29T12:08:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-29T06:38:12","slug":"firecracker-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/27-09-2025\/firecracker-ban","title":{"rendered":"Firecracker Ban: Balancing Environmental Protection and Social Justice"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS2\/Polity and Governance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The Supreme Court acknowledged that a complete firecracker ban could lead to illegal market capture by the mafia, citing a past example in Bihar&#8217;s mining industry.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The SC called for a <strong>\u201cbalanced approach\u201d,<\/strong> a policy that would ensure that the <strong>right to earn a livelihood<\/strong> in the<strong> firecracker industry<\/strong> would co-exist with the <strong>right to a clean environment<\/strong> without suffering from the <strong>after-effects of air pollution.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The Bench <strong>directed the Environment Ministry<\/strong> to find a<strong> solution that would weigh in all the considerations.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Green Crackers Allowed: <\/strong>Meanwhile, the court allowed manufacturers, who have been certified by NEERI and PESO to produce green crackers, to continue their operations.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Arguments in Favor of Ban<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Right to Clean Air:<\/strong> The constitutional framework established through landmark cases like M.C. Mehta v. Union of India (1987) and Virender Gaur v. State of Haryana (1995) recognizes the right to live in a pollution-free environment as integral to Article 21.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This universality principle demands that environmental protection measures apply equitably across India.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Health Hazards: <\/strong>Polluted air triggers respiratory diseases, asthma, bronchitis, especially in children and elderly.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Noise pollution causes hearing loss, stress, and sleep disturbance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Impact on Vulnerable Population: <\/strong>The health impacts disproportionately affect vulnerable populations.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The poor suffer most because they cannot afford air purifiers or seasonal migration to escape pollution.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>This creates an environmental justice paradox where those least able to protect themselves bear the greatest burden of pollution exposure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Arguments Against<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Livelihoods: <\/strong>Firecracker industry (esp. Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu) employs ~5 lakh workers, mostly from economically weaker backgrounds.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Ban risks pushing workers into poverty, child labour, or unsafe informal jobs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Cultural &amp; Religious Practices: <\/strong>Diwali, weddings, festivals, and processions have longstanding traditions of using fireworks.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Blanket bans raise concerns about freedom of religion and cultural rights.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Economic Equity: <\/strong>Large, mechanised industries may adapt to these concerns like shifting to green crackers, but small units lack resources.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>This increases the risk of market monopolisation by bigger firms.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Judicial &amp; Policy Stand<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Supreme Court (2018, 2021, 2023 rulings):<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Complete ban on toxic firecrackers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Allowed only \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/18-10-2022\/green-crackers\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/18-10-2022\/green-crackers\">green crackers<\/a>\u201d with reduced emissions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Limited timing for bursting crackers (e.g., 8\u201310 pm on Diwali).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Green Tribunal (NGT):<\/strong> Directed states to curb sales in areas with poor AQI.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>MoEFCC &amp; CSIR-NEERI:<\/strong> Developed \u201cgreen crackers\u201d with reduced emissions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Balancing Both Dimensions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Shift to Green Crackers:<\/strong> The government may promote scaling up the production of green crackers.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Licensing &amp; Monitoring: <\/strong>There should be strict enforcement on toxic cracker sales, certification for eco-friendly variants.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Skill Diversification:<\/strong> The government may promote retraining programs for workers from the firecrackers industries&nbsp; in renewable energy, LED, toy-making, packaging, etc.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Financial Support:<\/strong> Mechanisms for soft loans, subsidies, and transition support for MSMEs can help businesses avoid losses.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Conclusion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The firecracker ban highlights an environment vs. livelihood dilemma.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>While environmental protection and public health are constitutional obligations, social justice demands safeguarding vulnerable workers\u2019 rights.&nbsp;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A middle path \u2014 promoting green crackers, regulating usage, and supporting alternative livelihoods \u2014 is essential to reconcile environmental sustainability with social equity.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/complete-ban-on-firecrackers-doesnt-work-need-balanced-approach-supreme-court\/article70097032.ece#:~:text=The%20Bench%20directed%20the%20Environment,issue%20after%20taking%20onboard%20stakeholders&amp;text=The%20Supreme%20Court%20on%20Friday,wares%20to%20the%20gullible%20public.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The Supreme Court acknowledged that a complete firecracker ban could lead to illegal market capture by the mafia, citing a past example in Bihar&#8217;s mining industry.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>About<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The SC called for a \u201cbalanced approach\u201d, a policy that would ensure that the right to earn a livelihood in the firecracker industry would co-exist with the right to a clean environment without suffering from the after-effects of air pollution.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">The Bench directed the Environment Ministry to find a solution that would weigh in all the considerations.\u00a0<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Green Crackers Allowed: Meanwhile, the court allowed manufacturers, who have been certified by NEERI and PESO to produce green crackers, to continue their operations.\u00a0<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/27-09-2025\/firecracker-ban\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-55383","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=55383"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55383\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":55425,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/55383\/revisions\/55425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=55383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=55383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=55383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}