Order to burst firecrackers only for 3 hours on Diwali
Mumbai: In some important directions, the Bombay High Court on Monday directed that during the Diwali festival, firecrackers can be burst only between 7-10 pm. In view of the heavy air pollution and poor AQI in the city. Chief Justice D.K. Upadhyay and Justice Girish Kulkarni have asked all municipal corporations in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region to follow the directions to immediately deal with the AQI problem. The bench was hearing a suo motu PIL related to the deteriorating air quality in Mumbai, which has become a matter of great concern in the last few weeks, and seeking remedial measures.
The judges said a choice now needed to be made, either a disease-free environment or bursting crackers to celebrate Diwali. It urged the state government to take a decision as even walking on footpaths has become difficult as the entire city is affected by air pollution and “we cannot depend only on nature”.
Apart from the ban on firecrackers, the High Court has ordered a temporary ban on the movement of construction debris from construction sites in the city till Diwali. It further said that if the AQI does not improve by Friday, the court will also consider banning the movement of construction material in and out of the sites.
The judges also ordered implementation of recent measures by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) under the Mumbai Air Pollution Mitigation Plan, such as installing metal sheets around construction sites, sprinklers to suppress dust, to control air pollution. Traffic norms and other rules.
The court has said that the BMC ward officer concerned will be held personally responsible for any lapse and all municipal commissioners of MMR should not only monitor the steps being taken but also identify the erring officials.
The court ordered the formation of a two-member committee comprising the Director of Public Health Services and the Director of the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to conduct daily monitoring and supervision over the actions taken by the MMR Municipal Corporation authorities.
