New Delhi, October 31: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that only green firecrackers will be sold in Delhi-NCR region. The top Court also said that polluting firecrackers which have already manufactured will not be allowed to be sold in Delhi and NCR. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court modified its order on the use of crackers on Diwali and said that the two-hour slot for bursting firecrackers can be changed as per requirements of the states but the time limit will not be extended more than 2-hours.

The apex court was hearing several applications filed by the Tamil government and firecracker manufacturers seeking modification and clarification of its October 23 order. The apex court said the timing will be changed in places like Tamil Nadu and Puducherry but will not exceed two hours a day. Sale of Safe and Green Firecrackers Allowed, No Complete Ban Across India, Rules Supreme Court Ahead of Diwali 2018.

The counsel appearing for firecracker manufacturers told the court that it was not possible to come up with green crackers this Diwali since there was no set composition for manufacturing them. Firecrackers Allowed Only For 2 Hours on Diwali 2018, State Governments Can Decide Timing Suited to Them: Supreme Court. 

A bench comprising Justices A K Sikri and Ashok Bhushan also observed that the direction for permitting the use of green crackers was meant for the Delhi-NCR region and was not pan India. The change in the time slot comes after Tamil Nadu government on Monday urged the court to allow bursting of crackers on Diwali morning from 4 AM to 6 AM and not the 8 PM to 10 PM time slot, that the SC had proposed. Diwali 2018: Green Firecrackers Named SWAS, SAFAL and STAR Made by CSIR to Be 15–20% Cheaper, Pollution-Free. 

The Supreme Court on October 23 had restricted bursting of toxic firecrackers and allowed only “green firecrackers”, which have low emission of light, sound and harmful chemicals, on Diwali and other occasions. As per the ruling, people can burst firecrackers between 8-10 pm on Diwali and from 11:55 pm-12:30 am on New Year and Christmas.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 31, 2018 01:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).