The Supreme Court on Tuesday refused to rule a country-wide blanket ban on the sale of firecrackers. It said that only green firecrackers will be allowed to be sold. Online sale of firecrackers is banned.

The low polluting green firecrackers ought to be within permitted decibel limits and emission norms. Besides, timing restrictions on burning firecrackers during Diwali will come into force this year. People will be allowed to burn crackers between 8 pm and 10 pm on Diwali. On New Year and Christmas, the timing is from 11:45 pm to 12:15 am.

Commenting on the latest verdict, Vijay Panjwani, Advocate of Central Pollution Control Board, said, "Supreme Court's orders are not very strict. We were expecting a complete ban but that has not happened. All state pollution boards and Central Pollution Control Board will regulate and measure the particulate matter (PM) 2.5 and 10 in air, 7 days ahead of Diwali and 7 days after Diwali."