Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Nov 11: In compliance to the directions of National Green Tribunal (NGT), the Government of Jammu and Kashmir has ordered that only `green crackers’ shall be permitted for sale and use in Jammu and Srinagar cities while bursting of these green crackers shall be restricted to only two hours during the upcoming festivals.
The timing for bursting of these crackers shall be 8 pm to 10 pm on Diwali and Gurupurab; from 6 am to 8 am on Chhatt and from 11.55 pm to 12.30 am on the eve of Christmas and New Year, reads the order, issued by the State Executive Committee of the Department of Disaster Management, Relief, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction.
All the Deputy Commissioners shall execute extensive public awareness campaign regarding these directions while the J&K State Pollution Control Board shall carry out short -term monitoring in the cities of Jammu and Srinagar for 14 days (commencing immediately) for the parameters namely Aluminium, Barium, Iron aprt from the regulatory parameters against the short-term ambient Air Quality Criteria Values (AAQCVs) proposed by CPCB with regard to bursting of firecrackers.
The order warns that any violation of the above directions will invite immediate penal action under Section 51 to 60 of Disaster Management Act, 2005 besides legal action under Section 188 of the IPC and other provisions as applicable.
Pertinent to mention that the NGT, in its order dated November 9, 2020, has issued directions to the State/UTs in connection with the sale and use of crackers during the festive season. As per the NGT directions, there will be total ban on sale of use of all kinds of fire crackers in the NCR from midnight of November 9-10, 2020 to the midnight of November 30-December 1, 2020, to be reviewed thereafter. This direction will also apply to all cities and town in the country where the average ambient air quality during November falls under `poor’ and above category while the cities and town where air quality in `moderate’ or below, only green crackers be sold with restricted timing for bursting the same.
As per the J&K Pollution Control Board’s data for the month of November 2019, the cities of Jammu and Srinagar fall under the Moderate category of Air Quality Index.
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