Supreme Court to hear plea against ban on firecrackers in West Bengal during Diwali, other festivals
The Hindu
The petitioners have said that they represent the interest of about seven lakh families who are involved in the process of manufacture and sale of fireworks
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear on Monday a plea against the Calcutta High Court order banning the sale, purchase and use of all firecrackers in the state during Kali Puja, Diwali celebrations and some other festivities this year to check air pollution amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
A special bench of justices A.M. Khanwilkar and Ajay Rastogi would hear the plea which has claimed that the October 29 order passed by the High Court was “patently erroneous” in holding a complete ban on firecrackers within West Bengal when the apex court has allowed the use of green firecrackers in permissible limit across all states.
“The high court failed to appreciate that green crackers with reduced emission by a minimum of 30 percent have been introduced in the local market. These are environment friendly,” said the plea filed by the chairman of a West Bengal-based firecracker association and another such group.
A crowd comprising farmers, researchers, professors, students, and horticulture enthusiasts thronged the ICAR-Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR), Hesaraghatta, Bengaluru, on Friday for the inaugural ceremony of the Triphal Diversity Show which showcased 300 mango, 100 jackfruit, and 100 banana genotypes in collaboration with ICAR-National Research Centre for Banana, Tiruchirappalli.
The State government on Friday constituted a Special Investigation Team (SIT), headed by Additional Director-General of Police, Manish Kharbikar of the Economic Offences division of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) to probe the alleged multi-crore scam in the government-run Maharshi Valmiki Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation.