The Supreme Court is mulling limiting the time for bursting fire crackers during Diwali. A bench of the apex court judges has asked the Central government to respond to the suggestion that the time for bursting fire crackers should be limited between 5 PM and 10PM.
The move comes after 3 infants - six-month-old Arjun Gopal and Aarav Bhandari and 14-month-old Zoya Rao Bhasin - filed a plea in the Supreme Court told the apex court that their lungs are not yet fully developed and the large-scale bursting of firecrackers during the festival season of Dussehra and Diwali would further aggravate the already polluted air and will be seriously detrimental to their health.
The three toddlers have moved the apex court through their lawyer fathers.
Addressing a bench of Chief Justice H.L.Dattu, Justice Arun Mishra and Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel, senior counsel Kapil Sibal, appearing for one of the three petitioners, said that the issues involved required immediate and long term solutions.
Telling the court that all children should not look like ninjas - a word used by Chief Justice Dattu for describing his grandson who wears a mask to protect himself from air pollution - Sibal had earlier said that "40% of the children suffer from some kind of respiratory problem".
As court gave the governments, the pollution control agencies and Delhi Police one week's time to respond to the notice, Sibal said: "Let Delhi government come forward with a scheme to address the situation for a short term relief."
As senior counsel KK Venugopal told the court that during festival season of Dussehra and Diwali, smoke covers the entire city, Sibal said, "We are all very concerned for the children of this country and their future."
Appearing for another toddler petitioner, senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi had told the court that Delhi government has collected Rs387 crore for dealing with ever-increasing pollution but 87% of this amount remains unspent.
While issuing the notice, the court made it clear that matter would require impleading the association of firecrackers manufacturers as respondent.
Sibal told the court from internet, they could find only one Tamil Nadu-based association of manufacturers.
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