The Supreme Court's experiment with "green" firecrackers was meant to balance tradition with science. It didn't work along the expected lines. "Green" firecrackers, as this newspaper and many scientists have explained, are only less polluting, not non-polluting. The apex court's October 15 order tried to impose guardrails -- only certified "green" crackers, sold for three days, burst within fixed hours. But it was a policy impossible to enforce in a city of more than 20 million and several million more in its surrounding satellite cities of Gurugram, Noida, Ghaziabad and Faridabad. It became apparent early on that authorities across the National Capital Region (NCR) would not be able to ensure compliance at any stage. Shops sold regular firecrackers with impunity, and sales spilled far beyond the designated window. By night, NCR residents celebrated the most firecracker-laden Diwali in years. Even if "green" firecrackers had dominated the market -- and evidence suggests they did not -- they would have barely dented the toxic arithmetic. When PM2.5 levels rise 800% above safe limits, cutting one emission source by 30% changes little.
What this policy failure reveals is that public health can't be compromised in response to dodgy claims of custom and tradition, or for market compulsions. Delhi's air crisis has many causes -- vehicular emissions, crop burning, construction dust, along with unfavourable meteorological conditions -- but firecrackers are one of the few that can be completely avoided. Choosing not to burst them is the simplest and direct form of civic responsibility that citizens can exercise. Governments, too, must find the courage to prioritise health over populism. If enforcement is impossible, the answer is not to dilute the few enforceable rules. Public sentiment often sways when tradition is invoked, but traditions are not sacrosanct; they are mostly invented, and, hence, susceptible to change. In the case of firecrackers, civil society must take the lead in shaping public conscience, as it once did with seat belts, smoking bans, and single-use plastics. The message has to become common sense: Festivities should not come at the cost of the air we breathe. Civic campaigns could make this message ring loud and clear.