NGT seeks response of state authorities on cracker ban plea
Cuttack: National Green Tribunal (NGT) on Thursday issued fresh directions to the deputy controller of explosives (Odisha) and member secretary of Odisha State Pollution Control Board (OSPCB) to file their responses to a petition seeking intervention for implementation of the firecracker ban order issued by the Supreme Court.
NGT’s east zone bench in Kolkata also directed the chief secretary and director general of police to file records of action taken to enforce the SC direction issued in Oct 2021.
The bench of Justice B Amit Sthalekar (judicial member) and Arun Kumar Verma (expert member) adjourned the hearing on the petition to Feb 24 after finding that all the four respondents did not reply to notices issued on Nov 4 last year. Sanjay Kumar Nayak, a 46-year-old Aska-based environmental activist, had filed the petition. Advocates Sankar Prasad Pani Ashutosh Padhy appeared on Nayak’s behalf.
Supreme Court allowed the production and sale of crackers with reduced emission and green crackers only through licenced traders.
The petition alleged the manufacturing of hazardous and harmful banned firecrackers in the guise of green crackers in the state for Diwali and other occasions. In his petition, Nayak cited the cracker blast during Chandan Yatra in Puri on May 29, 2024, which killed 15 people and left over 22 severely injured.
The petition also sought direction calling for a report from the chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) on steps taken to prohibit the use of crackers during rituals of Lord Jagannath. SJTA and deputy SP (crime) filed their response affidavits on Thursday.
According to the petition, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) identified 102 ‘non-attainment’ cities, including seven in Odisha — Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Angul, Talcher, Balasore, Kalinganagar and Rourkela — where air quality does not meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). NGT banned the use of firecrackers in all non-attainment cities on Dec 1, 2020, the petition said. The situation has not changed much even after the cracker ban by the NGT and SC, the petition alleged.
NGT’s east zone bench in Kolkata also directed the chief secretary and director general of police to file records of action taken to enforce the SC direction issued in Oct 2021.
The bench of Justice B Amit Sthalekar (judicial member) and Arun Kumar Verma (expert member) adjourned the hearing on the petition to Feb 24 after finding that all the four respondents did not reply to notices issued on Nov 4 last year. Sanjay Kumar Nayak, a 46-year-old Aska-based environmental activist, had filed the petition. Advocates Sankar Prasad Pani Ashutosh Padhy appeared on Nayak’s behalf.
Supreme Court allowed the production and sale of crackers with reduced emission and green crackers only through licenced traders.
The petition alleged the manufacturing of hazardous and harmful banned firecrackers in the guise of green crackers in the state for Diwali and other occasions. In his petition, Nayak cited the cracker blast during Chandan Yatra in Puri on May 29, 2024, which killed 15 people and left over 22 severely injured.
The petition also sought direction calling for a report from the chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) on steps taken to prohibit the use of crackers during rituals of Lord Jagannath. SJTA and deputy SP (crime) filed their response affidavits on Thursday.
According to the petition, Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) identified 102 ‘non-attainment’ cities, including seven in Odisha — Bhubaneswar, Cuttack, Angul, Talcher, Balasore, Kalinganagar and Rourkela — where air quality does not meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS). NGT banned the use of firecrackers in all non-attainment cities on Dec 1, 2020, the petition said. The situation has not changed much even after the cracker ban by the NGT and SC, the petition alleged.
