Environmentalists have scored over economists. While the
latter demand “big bang” reforms to kick-start the economy (demonetisation is
not one of them), those batting the pathetic air quality in the National
Capital Region have secured supporting fire, courtesy the Supreme Court’s order
suspending licences to sell “big bangers” – all fireworks to be accurate – to
contain a major contributor to the “Smog Emergency” choking Delhi and its
neighbourhood.

While the fine print of the order requires judicial
interpretation and test, popular perception is that a ban has been imposed,
albeit temporary, on the use of crackers at religious festivals, marriage
celebrations, etc. Which would be appreciated by the thousands suffering
breathing difficulties in crisis conditions that have been “pushed” from front
pages by hardships following the cash-crunch. Maybe the people have themselves
to blame for restrictions imposed on a traditional form of festivity – “education” projects in schools and appeals to the public made little impact,
as the post-Diwali conditions would confirm.

Now much will depend on how the police and other agencies,
including the subordinate judiciary, give effect to the very detailed and
articulate order of the apex court. The wedding season still has the potential
to trigger much ignoring of judicial orders in order to keep popular sentiments
alive. And it must be remembered that using fireworks has not been explicitly
prohibited – can someone purchase them from beyond the NCR and bring them
“home” for a little “fun”? Another moot question remains why the judiciary did
not crack down earlier: the petition was before it, experts were expressing
apprehensions of troubled times ahead. Did the courts follow the authorities in
backing-off from open confrontation with religious customs? Under the
prevailing atmospheric conditions, little ice will be cut by the fireworks
traders’ grouse that they have been singled out as a “soft target”.

Yet there is some validity to the complaint that while they
risk being deprived of their livelihood, only token action has been taken
against farmers burning crop stubble, those plying obsolete motor vehicles, the
disinclination of the petroleum companies to switch to cleaner fuel, the
construction industry for not taking dust-control measures and so on. All that
points to the failure of the central and state governments to formulate and
implement an air-pollution control regime well before the onset of winter, and
dovetailing experiments like shutting down the Badarpur power plant and the
odd-even scheme for motor vehicles into a comprehensive programme: rather than
knee-jerk reactions too little, too late, and only after hospitals report a
huge increase in patients suffering from respiratory problems. Maybe that is
because clean air has yet to become a major election issue in Punjab and UP – though both have stakes in the NCR.