The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has cited many cities which has high pollution and thus has ordered a ban on the use of firecrackers this Diwali festival.
Following the footstep of NGT the Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB), Nagpur on Tuesday has issued letters to District Collector and Nagpur Municipal Corporation (NMC) to impose a ban on the sale and use of firecrackers in the city.
Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) has listed 122 cities that normally have air quality beyond norms. Four cities of Vidarbha including Nagpur, Akola, Amravati, and Chandrapur have been included in the list of non-attainment cities.
On Tuesday, November 10 following the footstep of many states, NMC has said to avoid bursting high decibel firecrackers like Sutli Bomb and similar items during the festivities this Diwali and go green citing major problems with pollution and COVID-19 threat in the country.
The NGT order said, “It is a well-known fact that burning of the firecrackers releases copious amounts of harmful chemicals, which have a severe impact on the respiratory health of vulnerable groups and such pollutants can further aggravate health conditions of COVID-19 positive persons besides persons staying in home isolation. Hence, a complete ban is required on sale and bursting of firecrackers.â€
The order also directs the Central and State Pollution Control Boards to regularly monitor compliance and compile air pollution data from November 9 to November 30 and put it on their websites and file a consolidated report.