Exploding or selling cookies this season can result in a fine of up to Rs1 lakh below, Delhi’s Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Friday.
A day after Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced a total ban on the sale and use of firecrackers, including “green crackers”, in Delhi, Rai said that people caught selling or popping firecrackers can receive a fine of up to Rs1 lakh under air (Pollution Prevention and Control Act) (1981).
“The prosecutions will be carried out under the Air Act, which has a provision to impose fines of up to Rs1 lakh,” Rai said on Friday.
Read also | Make sure there is no smog in Delhi after Diwali holidays: SC tells the Center
Rai said he will convene a meeting with representatives from the environment department, the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) and the Delhi Police on Monday to come up with a detailed action plan to enforce the ban.
According to Kejriwal’s announcement on Thursday, the cookie ban will be in effect from November 7 to 30.
“While the usual sources of pollution in Delhi remain constant throughout the year, cracked crackers before Diwali and burning stubble in neighboring states increase pollution levels in Delhi. Looking at the increasing number of Covid-19 cases in the city, saving people’s lives is more important than the economic aspect of the losses that cracker traders bear, ”Rai said.
Rai also announced the creation of a 15-member impact assessment panel to monitor fumigation and record the effectiveness of the ‘biodecomponent Pusa’ which promises to turn farm stubble into manure. This has been promoted as a solution to the massive burning of stubble in the agrarian states of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh, adding to the stale air in Delhi every winter.
Rai said the panel will consist of MLA, district-level officials and scientists from the Institute of Research and Agriculture of India.
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