Bursting 'Green Crackers' Won't Solve Delhi's Annual Diwali Dilemma
Who will ensure if all crackers are really green? The scale of defiance is likely to outstrip the state’s capacity.
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Diwali after Diwali, Delhi’s air turns unacceptably toxic, but life just goes on. Despite the abundance of data showing that the ambient PM 2.5 levels spiral sixteen-fold on Diwali night—and over 90 percent of those fine particles come from fireworks—nothing changes.
In 2024, despite a complete ban on firecrackers, Delhi became the world’s most polluted city on Diwali night. All because bans do not work and the police simply cannot police every bylane and rooftop across the city. But is the halfway house built on green crackers going to hold or collapse? Here is my take.
The Supreme Court said it was taking a “balanced approach” by recognising cultural traditions while enforcing environmental safeguards. Chief Justice of India BR Gavai observed that a total ban had encouraged black market trade and inflow of more toxic, unregulated fireworks into the capital.
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta applauded the top court's ruling, saying it honours the sentiments of people celebrating the festival while maintaining a balance between tradition and environmental protection. Even as TV debates and editorials alternately lauded or decried the green cracker idea, inside their homes, people are divided right down the middle.
An Illogical Move and a Foreseen Catastrophy
Where do I stand on this? The post-Diwali haze is a public-health emergency that should not be brushed aside with tokenism and invocation of cultural and religious traditions.
Post Diwali, hospitals record spikes in asthma, COPD, cardiac distress, and eye ailments. PM 2.5— particles smaller than 2.5 microns—are well known to penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream, aggravating asthma and chronic conditions- sometimes with severe—even lethal consequences. Children and the elderly are known to suffer the most.
Before Diwali celebrations start in a couple of hours, let me say what I think will happen. I cannot see the green crackers replacing all red crackers.
The Supreme Court approved the green crackers developed by NEERI, one of the most respected institutions under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. While they may be releasing 30 percent less dust and metal oxides than regular crackers, what is emitted upon burning green crackers is still poison.
On one side, Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)-1 has already been kicked into action by stopping polluting activities. On the other, another arm of the state is permitting toxic chemicals to be wilfully discharged into the environment. What is the logic?
Families and friends with kids tell me it is easy to order firecrackers online or on the phone and get doorstep delivery. While it has been assumed that people will accept the “balanced” option, and no red firecrackers will be sold, and the police will dutifully enforce the restrictions as imposed, I cannot see it happening. The stories of illegal storage, sale and bursting of banned firecrackers are being repeated exactly as was happening right through the ban. In Delhi, friends tell me there is zero sale of any sort of crackers but the red ones can be easily bought (for a price), behind closed doors.
Given this situation, even the most zealous police force cannot monitor 1,700 unauthorised colonies, hundreds of slums, scores of urban villages and thousands of regular colonies, in Delhi. Expecting the police to arrest or even detain citizens across a metropolis of 25 million is impossible. The more congested parts of the city simply will not listen, and the scale of defiance will outstrip the state’s capacity.
Misplaced Cultural Angst
Diwali’s grandeur lies in the illumination of every government building and every home; in wearing new clothes, discarding clutter, buying gold or a new utensil on Dhanteras, colouring garden pots, and making homes sparkle to welcome Lakshmi, the patron Hindu goddess of prosperity. It lies in cooking Diwali farsan or faraal, sharing sweets, visiting friends and neighbours, and spreading good cheer.
To overcome the pollution aspect and yet respect people’s enjoyment of light and sound, many imaginative ideas ought to have been considered. For starters, a massive awareness campaign should have been initiated across schools and the RWAs months earlier. The Delhi Development Authority (DDA) has created splendid ghats that are expansive, green, and bang on the Yamuna riverfront which could have been utilised for a grand laser display. It is just one idea which comes to mind. In cities like Singapore or London, fireworks are centralised and ticketed, combining spectacle with safety.
Managing a central “Festival of Lights” on the Yamuna riverfront or in district parks would have been a runaway success. There is no dearth of resources or capacity in Delhi. The city has managed much bigger events like coordinating the G-20 summit or a long-term crises like quarantining and vaccinating millions of citizens during the COVID-19 pandemic. A two-day festival needed more than a balancing act or experimentation and overlooking the severe health hazards to come. Delhi should be a model for imaginative ideas—not a city of compromise.
It used to be the school children of those days, now no longer kids, that carried the messages home and stopped parents from buying fireworks. Again, it was the school children who insisted on playing Holi with chemical-free colours. Both initiatives were hugely successful. In the last several years I have not heard of these campaigns. Educating the public and using school kids is the only way. Bans and policing will not work.
If Delhi truly wishes to celebrate the festival of light, it should begin by illuminating its own conscience. The air belongs to everyone—not just to those who can afford to ignore it. Until that realisation dawns, Diwali will remain a night of splendour and suffocation in equal measure.
(Shailaja Chandra is a former Chief Secretary of Delhi and former Secretary, Government of India. This is an opinion piece. All views expressed are the author’s own. The Quint neither endorses nor is responsible for them.)