- 16 hours ago
This special report investigates the Supreme Court's decision to permit certified green firecrackers in Delhi-NCR for Diwali, a ruling made amidst existing air quality concerns and the implementation of GRAP-1 measures. India Today's Sonal Mehrotra Kapoor moderates a debate featuring activist Sujata Pandey, environmentalist Vimlendu Jha, and Bhavreen Kandhari, discussing the bench's ruling led by CJI B.R. Gavai. The discussion addresses perspectives on faith versus selective activism and evaluates whether the decision offers a pragmatic solution to illegal cracker smuggling or presents a public health risk. The program details green cracker specifications, enforcement challenges, and the conflict between celebration rights and the right to clean air in the capital. Environmentalist Vimlendu Jha commented on the Supreme Court's approach to balancing interests. The report further covers Delhi's air pollution situation, including contributing factors like industrial and vehicular emissions, and the Delhi government's proposed cloud seeding or artificial rain initiative. Additionally, the program explains recent updates to Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) rules, outlining conditions for withdrawing up to 100% of the PF balance.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Hi there, I'm Sonal Merotra Kapoor, you're watching Five Live here on India Today.
00:11Now, Diwali, not very far from now, but big news coming in on two very important fronts.
00:16One, on crackers. After five years of complete ban, well, it's debatable whether it was really
00:23applicable or not, enforced or not, the Supreme Court has given green light to the green crackers.
00:30What does this mean for Delhi Z, which is already in the poor category?
00:34And story number two, the focus is on EPFO. Now, there are new fundamental shifts that have been made,
00:42some great, some not so great. But what it's led to is a lot of confusion.
00:47So today on the program, we'll get you an expert who will solve and answer all your PF queries.
00:54When can you withdraw? How much can you withdraw even in an extraordinary circumstances?
01:01All of that coming up. First up, let's take you through the top story today.
01:06Now, this Diwali, green crackers, because the Supreme Court has given a green signal
01:16for bursting green crackers in Delhi NCR this Diwali.
01:21But only within the strict time limits, the bursting of firecrackers will be allowed from 6 to 7am
01:27and again from 8 to 10 in the evening between October 19th and 20th.
01:34Now, during the hearing, CGI VR Gavaya emphasised that this is temporary measure aimed to sort of striking
01:41a balance that he said between festive celebrations and environmental protection.
01:46But is it really? Not all are convinced.
01:49The CGI also warned that smuggled crackers, which are illegal and unregulated,
01:55cause far more pollution than certified green ones.
01:59To ensure this, police patrols will monitor firecracker manufacturers and sellers
02:06with strict action against the violators.
02:08Crackers brought in from outside Delhi NCR are banned and sellers found sort of not really following that
02:19and will stand at the risk of losing their license.
02:23If they are found with a stock which is also not licensed, they still stand at losing their license.
02:30Not just that, to keep a close watch on air quality,
02:32the Central Pollution Control Board with monitor pollution levels from October 14th to 21st
02:38and submit a detailed report.
02:41Remember, this ruling comes after months of debate and strict regulations aimed at combating Delhi's really bad air quality
02:50and also at a time when Centra's air pollution panel has already enforced GRAP 1 in NCR.
02:57There you go. If you drove around the city, which is under terrible traffic at the moment,
03:03these are the hazy visuals that you saw on the road.
03:07Now, while the Apex Court's order reflects sort of balanced approach in their view,
03:11both authorities and citizens alike need to work together to actually ensure that fun and joy
03:17does not come at the cost of Delhi's air.
03:20And that's what we are debating today.
03:22But first, let's try and understand in detail what this order has for us.
03:27This is my colleague, Anisha Mathur.
03:30With scathing remarks on how the ban on firecrackers has been flouted over the years
03:35and how crackers have been smuggled into Delhi NCR,
03:39the Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice of India, BR Gawai,
03:42has allowed green crackers and green crackers only to be sold and burst in Delhi.
03:48But with serious riders, only sale can be from designated, identified spots by certified vendors
03:56only between 18th, 19th and 20th.
04:00That is, Dhanteras, Chhoti Diwali and Diwali.
04:02Bursting of crackers is restricted to three hours.
04:06That is, 6 to 7 a.m. and 8 to 10 p.m. on 19th and the 20th.
04:11That is, Chhoti Diwali and Diwali.
04:13Because the court taking note of the arguments that have been raised
04:17by the firecracker manufacturers, the industry, as well as the government.
04:21Remember, the court is saying that they are trying to strike a balance
04:24between the right to health, the requirement to maintain AQI levels,
04:31maintain health of young persons or elderly and people in the Delhi NCR,
04:37as well as the right to livelihood of the industry and the questions and the concerns
04:42raised by the government with regard to the celebration of a very, very important Indian festival.
04:49But the court also making it clear that flying squads must maintain a very close eye.
04:55The police and administration are responsible for ensuring that only green crackers are burst
05:00in the national capital and that detailed reports on the AQI level are submitted
05:06by the pollution control boards of all the NCR states.
05:10And before we go back to the studio where my colleague Sonal Mehrotra Kapoor is speaking to our guests,
05:15let's also listen in to what exactly are green crackers, a report by Sonal.
05:20So what are green crackers and can they really help clean up Delhi's toxic air?
05:26So we thought we'll tell you a little bit about them.
05:28Here's our explainer.
05:29Now, green crackers are redesigned firecrackers that emit fewer pollutants than traditional ones.
05:35They contain reduced amounts of harmful chemicals like barium, aluminium,
05:40and also include additives that suppress dust and smoke.
05:43Scientists from NEERI, for example, claim that these crackers can reduce particulate pollution by about 30 to 35%.
05:49While they are considered safer, experts also caution that they still release ultra-fine particles
05:55and sort of gases, meaning they are less harmful, not harmless.
06:00That's the bottom line here.
06:02Let's also now look at how are these green crackers different from your conventional firecrackers.
06:07You've got a couple of comparisons over there.
06:09Okay.
06:09Number one, on chemical composition.
06:11Now, conventional firecrackers contain higher levels of harmful metals.
06:15I already pointed them out.
06:17It's barium, it's potassium, it's nitrate, aluminium, all of them.
06:19Green crackers, on the other hand, use reduced amounts of these metals.
06:24But, so a reduced amount of aluminium content maybe.
06:28But when it comes to pollution, let's look at the next one.
06:30How exactly do they fare?
06:32Conventional crackers release a lot of particulate matter, nitrogen oxide, sulphur dioxide, heavy metals.
06:37Green crackers cut the particulate matter emissions, claimed to be by 30 to 35%, producing much less smoke.
06:46But let's get into the dust and smoke a little bit then.
06:49Regular crackers have no additives to reduce these.
06:52But green crackers claim to include special additives to suppress dust and make the smoke less visible.
07:00What about noise?
07:01Well, noise levels are also a big difference.
07:04Conventional crackers can get very loud.
07:06Obviously, you know, we all know it, often exceeding safe limits as well.
07:11While green crackers are designed to produce lower noise and reduce noise pollution as well.
07:16But burst duration and intensity, that's the critical one.
07:20Traditional crackers have longer, more intense bursts and heavy sparks.
07:25Whereas green crackers often have shorter bursts and controlled flame intensity.
07:28Another point there is that conventional crackers contain materials that produce heavy ash when burned.
07:35Green crackers eliminate these ash producing ingredients, resulting in less litter as well.
07:42Finally, certification.
07:43Conventional crackers don't require any environmental certification.
07:46Green crackers are certified by bodies like NEERI, by PESCO.
07:50And to meet sort of pollution control standards, they claim to be meeting them.
07:56But of course, there are a lot of fakes out in the market as well.
07:59To top it off, green crackers include dust suppressants to further reduce particulate macker.
08:05So, what's the catch here then?
08:07Well, the catch is that scale matters.
08:10Even if each cracker emits less pollution, widespread use could still overwhelm the system, erasing the environmental gains altogether.
08:20Delhi's background pollution, remember, the level basic pollution, even as we speak today, is already quite bad.
08:27Delhi fails during this time of the year when weather patterns trap sort of pollutants close to the ground.
08:33And all of us are already in the poor category if you don't know it already.
08:36Enforcement is a key risk as well.
08:38Without strict checks, non-certified or fake green crackers could easily enter the market.
08:44So, what's the bottom line?
08:46Green crackers may offer a compromise celebration only if it is implemented with caution.
08:53But whether they bring joy or just more smog will really depend on how well the rules are followed and how strictly they are enforced.
09:02Because remember, Delhi is really holding its breath quite literally on this one.
09:09Alright, so those are the details over there.
09:11But let's bring in our panel now.
09:12Joining us is Deemlen Dujha, environmentalist and CEO of Green the Map.
09:16Pavreen Khandari, member of Warrior Moms.
09:18And Sujata Pandey, activist, is with us.
09:21I promised to stay on this issue yesterday.
09:24I'm sticking to my promise.
09:25I've come back to the matter to address it again today.
09:28Of course, there's an update as well.
09:30But I want to give the first word to Sujata Pandey there.
09:33Sujata, you know, I'm very worried.
09:36Extremely worried on how year after year the air quality only seems to be getting worse.
09:43We are this time around, because of the floods, double burning has not even begun.
09:47We are already in the poor category.
09:49What has changed in the past five years that the government had to go and ask the Supreme Court to allow crackers at all?
09:58It only brings down by barely 30%.
10:01That's if it's implemented.
10:03That's if it's the right green cracker.
10:05There are so many riders when it comes to this.
10:08I'm really struggling to understand how this will be implemented.
10:11Okay, so first of all, thank you for calling me today and bringing to all my fellow panelists also.
10:19So first, let's look at this entire firecracker, you know, activism in a selective, hypocritical manner.
10:26You know, in a democracy, when you ignore people's sentiment and faith and only pretend to be an informantialist,
10:31only when a Hindu festival comes, I would call that a selective activism,
10:36not an environmentalism, love or whatever for that matter.
10:40Secondly, you spoke about pollution.
10:42You know, the Delhi crackers cause only, actually, lesser than 7% of the total pollution caused by the industries,
10:49the vehicle pollution, the stubble burning.
10:51So this decision of the Supreme Court is a balance.
10:54And I'll tell you in points how it is a balanced decision and why government went for the cream cracker.
10:59Now, I'll begin with number one.
11:01One is that this decision balances both faith and fundamental rights.
11:04Because it recognized that no matter how much you ban, you know, you put how much ever the policies that you want to people,
11:10you're not going to follow because they deserve to celebrate the festival in this country,
11:17which is the fundamental right under Article 25.
11:19But they also deserve access to a clean air, as you rightly mentioned.
11:23So the court balanced it and said, okay, I'm going to specify a timeline in which you can burn this cracker in the morning from 6 to 7, 6 to 8,
11:32and in the evening 8 to 10, and let's just balance both.
11:36So it did not choose a selective activism or selective outrage.
11:40Can I point out, you said it's only for Hindus.
11:48Do you know, since when the ban is by the Supreme Court, it was all year long.
11:53From 2020 when they intervened, it was all year round.
11:56It was not specifically for Diwali.
11:58It was not specifically for anything else.
12:00They said complete ban all year round.
12:03So nobody is getting after Hinduism.
12:04Okay, so can I just, but don't you hear that these debates do not happen during Eid when there's an animal slaughter on the roads?
12:13I live in Mumbai where my entire society is filled with cut heads of the animals who I would love to protect.
12:19But can I even raise a voice?
12:21No, perhaps because I will be, you know, probably booked under some blasphemy or something like that.
12:26But anyways, I'm not getting to that.
12:28What I'm trying to say is that, you know, there has to be a middle-class zone.
12:31You need to look at that you have to choose science, not sentiment-based, you know, outrage.
12:37Because the court said that, okay, use only NERI certified green crackers, which have by data shown that, okay, 30 to 35 percent of the ignition will be down.
12:48The sound decibels, so 125 percent will be down.
12:51So at least we are beginning with something.
12:53You saw last time what happened.
12:54There was a complete ban.
12:56And people went on and they said, okay, this is a repression.
12:59This is not something that, you know, you are regulatory.
13:03Because people went out and put it on the social media.
13:05So clearly they were not afraid of burning crackers.
13:08They were ready to go to jail also.
13:09So what does the government do?
13:11The government has to find a middle path.
13:14And that is why government went for the green crackers.
13:16Because I know it is not 100 percent solution, Sonal.
13:19But then 100 percent solution is not even like, why are we even living in Delhi?
13:24You know, we should go to a forest and start living in the kind of how, you know, the ancient civilizations used to live.
13:30We should stop traveling by cars.
13:32We should stop using ACs.
13:33We should stop using digital media.
13:35We should stop using AI, which is going to be a bigger threat for all our water resource because of the lack of data.
13:41Ma'am, are you telling me countries that have all of it, all face air pollution problems?
13:47Are you telling me countries that use AI have digital solutions, are progressive, they all have air pollution problems?
13:53Let's be very clear, ma'am.
13:55Let's not, this is not, there is no binary answer here.
13:58Come on, let me give it, let me give Vimalindu Jha a chance.
14:03You've spoken, I've heard you.
14:06No, you have not let me finish.
14:06Okay, take 30 more seconds.
14:08Okay, take 30 more seconds, fine.
14:09So, I am saying, I am saying, Sonal, we didn't have a, didn't have any, but either we could do a total ban or we could give total freedom.
14:16The court choose a middle path.
14:18It sets out to, at least, you know, determine to set a model for responsible celebration of, you know, festivals.
14:25It said that, okay, with technology, with advancements, with current situations, you can choose and choose to celebrate responsibility.
14:33This is what exactly was the intention of the government and the intention of the court.
14:37You tell me, if you had any alternate solutions, please, and I'll be all ears to hear that.
14:42Vimalindu Jha has an alternate solution.
14:44I want to give him a word to come in and speak about this.
14:47Mr. Jha, you heard Mr. Pandey.
14:49I think the point, a lot of stuff that she said could be debated, but I think what she's right about is the fact that even when there was a complete ban, there was massive flouting of rules.
14:59So, when that's the case, it gives no confidence to the government to say that, and the court has said what?
15:04The court has said smuggling was happening.
15:06Now, let's put a process in place.
15:08Isn't that something that's welcome?
15:10So, Sonal, based on that logic, as in just because people violate the traffic rules, there should not be any rules at all.
15:19And then a classic case of water voucher is what we've heard from Ms. Pandey.
15:23I think the first thing that she said that, you know, people like us or people or children who were the main petitioners, by the way, five years ago,
15:29when they said that my right to breathe is more important than right to celebration,
15:34as in just saying that, oh, well, these are all pretentious, these are all people with a gender.
15:38And she also said, oh, well, why do we not speak otherwise?
15:41Madam, we speak through the year.
15:43For you, it could be a matter of sentiment.
15:45For me, my sentiment is attached to the lung size and the health of the child.
15:49For me, that is more important.
15:51My Ram, my Ram survives in every child and their well-being and not just in person or firecrackers.
15:59Let him speak. I'll come back to you.
16:01This is not the kind of debate where we have to shout.
16:03We have enough time. We'll hear everybody.
16:06So, deep breaths. Yeah, deep breaths. And let's hear.
16:08I'll come to everybody. Don't worry. Don't worry.
16:10Yes, Mr. Jha.
16:11Yeah, yeah.
16:11Deep breaths if you can afford to take some.
16:15Yeah, deep breath that we're talking about.
16:16And that's the breath away that the Supreme Court has taken in really,
16:20in idea of justice, there's nothing called balancing act.
16:24You know, the Supreme Court is not supposed to do balancing between sentiment and faith and health.
16:29It's very clear that we are in 2025 where science should govern our policy.
16:34And last five years and 10 years, I always say that, you know, a lot of air quality governance
16:40or environmental governance of our country is done by the courts of our country, which should not happen
16:45because one day there will be a chance when the courts of our country, when they get so deep into governance,
16:50it can be damaging.
16:51And today, exactly what we've seen, it's very, very regressive a decision taken by the Supreme Court
16:56where it's actually forwarded the agenda of one kind and completely ignored the health, the public health.
17:05By the way, we're not even talking about environment.
17:08We're only talking about public health.
17:10At Delhi's baseline, and imagine such is the irony that 240 Delhi's air quality is already poor.
17:18And that day, the Supreme Court says, please, you are allowed to make it more poor
17:21because I don't want to hurt your sentiments.
17:24And my sentiments, tell me one thing in my family, my ailing child, that sentiment
17:30or my idea of a full jhari and more toxins of a greenwashed firecracker.
17:35So somewhere, you know, in love for this entire fundamentalism and fanatism
17:40and not even understanding what is faith and what is humanity,
17:44people really, you know, say things that they should not be.
17:47At the end of the day, interest of people.
17:50Yeah, faith versus humanity, it is about science versus sentiment.
17:57I think that's where the debate is really going over here.
17:59But I want to give Bhavreen also a chance to sort of come in.
18:02Bhavreen, you are part of the mums and the group that actually petitioned in the Supreme Court.
18:07Now, the question is valid.
18:08You know, when I was a child, I'm sure when you were growing up as well,
18:12we looked forward to Diwali.
18:13I totally understand when we say that.
18:16Today, the fact is, I can't give my child the same experience.
18:20But I have to choose between my child's experience that she gets
18:25versus the health that she will live with for the rest of her life.
18:28Now, are you taunt sometimes?
18:31And what is your reaction to the Supreme Court order
18:34where they're saying that they've struck a balance?
18:39Yes, Sonal, I hear you.
18:40I feel you.
18:41And these are the kind of messages,
18:43hundreds and thousands of messages.
18:45I'm sorry, I don't agree at all with my co-panelist here.
18:49And of course, she is, you know, more on the front of rather.
18:53I would say that she's absolutely un-pragmatic.
18:56And I will just go on terms of legally of how the Supreme Court has.
19:01See, it's not now.
19:02It's not about crackers.
19:03It's not about clean air.
19:06It's not about forests.
19:07It's the Supreme Court has repeatedly held
19:09that the right to clean air is part of the right to life
19:13under Article 21 of the Constitution.
19:17And now when they themselves,
19:19when they bring in green crackers,
19:21which are known,
19:22which have now been proven to emit particulate matter
19:27or the gases or metals, whatever,
19:29they are themselves compromising that right.
19:31So the court cannot simultaneously now uphold
19:34a constitutional right for health.
19:37And also, you know...
19:40So will you be challenging this order then?
19:44Well, these orders are not, you know,
19:46there's a huge amount of technical problems with it.
19:49Now, I want to add something here,
19:51which we've been saying for a while rather,
19:54because, you know, we've all lost so much faith,
19:57you know, that the trust in, you know,
20:00justice and the judiciary is...
20:02It's lost because it's not about one month
20:06or two months or years.
20:07For years, in 2015, you know,
20:10this petition when the toddlers filed this petition
20:13with a very emotional petition
20:15that came up with on right to breathe.
20:17And all our children, you know, who are suffering
20:19and, you know, between all of us,
20:21I think we were all, you know,
20:23had some stories, something to say there.
20:26So it's a personal.
20:27Whenever you say mothers or citizens,
20:30it's a personal thing.
20:31There's no thing when a mother has to, you know,
20:34rush out to a hospital
20:35or a parent has to be...
20:37Your senior parents have to be taken,
20:40you know, somewhere.
20:41So it's to a hospital in the night.
20:42The data is clear.
20:44There are pediatric wards
20:46which are absolutely full on Diwali nights.
20:49And here, like you said,
20:51thanks so much for correcting,
20:52you know, the panelists,
20:53that it's not even about Diwali.
20:55It's about crackers.
20:57It's about throughout the year.
20:58It's about celebrations.
20:59It's about processions.
21:00It's about weddings.
21:02It's about cricket matches.
21:03So what about the ban?
21:04The last months were all banned until today.
21:07But we've heard crackers.
21:09Every alternate day, single day,
21:11we have complained about it
21:12and nothing has happened.
21:13So that itself shows...
21:14Actually, as a citizen,
21:16it gives you very little confidence
21:17that even this will be applicable.
21:20This will be enforced.
21:21Absolutely.
21:22And I've been that one citizen
21:24who every time the cracker went up,
21:26I was calling to say,
21:27you know, this is the ban.
21:28Please ensure it doesn't happen.
21:29But it's never enforced.
21:31I want to come to Sujata Pante,
21:33but before that,
21:34we are getting a reaction from Parvesh Verma.
21:37Let's listen into what the Delhi government
21:39had to say,
21:40who actually petitioned to the court
21:41to allow the green crackers to come in.
21:43Let's listen.
21:44Let's listen.
22:14कि अब बिना किसी टेंशन के बिना किसी चिंता के सभी हम जो ये ग्रीन पठाके जलाएंगे और अपनी दिवाली को और भी सुंदर मनाएंगे सुप्रीम कोट के फैसले का मैं बहुत-बहुत स्वागत करता हूं दिल्ली वासियों को बदाई देता हूं
22:27Yes, I do Maniyog Supreme Court, which has changed this decision for 8 years after 8 years.
22:35In Delhi, now, we will be able to fight for 10-10 hours at night.
22:41And we will be able to fight for this decision.
22:45We will be able to fight for this decision.
22:48We will be able to fight for this decision.
22:54I think, just a quick correction there.
22:56I think Mr. Sirsa got that right.
22:58I think it's 6-7 in the morning and 8-10 just to get those timings right.
23:03Which brings me to who is bursting crackers at 6 o'clock in the morning!
23:06I want to know!
23:08Sujatha ji, are you bursting crackers at 6 o'clock in the morning?
23:11I've been wondering where that came from.
23:15So that's why I said this is a balanced decision.
23:17The court knew that a middle path had to be found.
23:20And that's why it shows a timing which is perhaps you know,
23:23you know morning who would burst the practice so probably that you could absolutely think that
23:27people would not the only time left is 8 to 10 which in my opinion a lot of people will be busy
23:35in doing pujas and things like that you know specifically for diwali so you if the window
23:40gets you know decrease or even limited to one hour or so so that is why i said it is a selective
23:45activism because somebody mentioned here and they called me hypocritical but let me just expose their
23:52selective activism i mean about the good lumps of the children you know i am a mother too and i know
23:57that the lungs disease in children by data is not caused by the firecrackers alone the 51 of it is
24:04caused by the factories the pollutant that that have that goes on in the air 365 days in a year 24 by 7
24:11and they and i do not hear one inter-environmentalist coming out to say let's shut these factories you
24:17know they are the ones who drive in driving in a diesel cars and you know live in the ac car and
24:22they'll say oh pollution first start living they are the ones who send their children in the school bus
24:28no which is running the diesel and they'll say oh my god my school children are going to be affected
24:32they are the ones who will send the school children who are the schools which are full of acs the
24:37classroom full of ac that their children are not even exposed to the sunlight and then they'll say oh my
24:41god i'm worried about my children's health so this is why i said it is a double standard now you know this
24:46is why i said that why is the balance let me come back to the point and not just pinpoint you know
24:51why is i i feel that this correct this decision is going to be a starter you know nothing is on
24:58perfection tonal you know we have to find a point where we can start the court choose the right the right
25:05root problem it questioned and made people accountable for enforcing the law last time these bans were there
25:13i be you know i come from delhi and i see people like going all over the crackers they were not even
25:19afraid what will happen to them so the court made sure that the responsible personnel with police with
25:24the administration you know make sure that the no smuggled uh crackers enter delhi ncr there are no
25:31online sale of the crackers and you know all of that and there's just you know why are we even like
25:36we have to start i i okay let me get a response to that let me yeah which is not possible let me get
25:43a response to that so bhavreen uh so bhavreen which car are your kids using now and are they constantly in
25:50ac i first want to get that no first of all the kids are uh you know studying now they're in
25:55this we are not going to get into this personal where where what is it that uh the uh what is it
26:02that you do i want to hear my you started you started it you started it wait for one second let
26:10bhavi no personal remarks let's just let's be a little civil about this okay time out okay time out time
26:17out let's cut the mics let me go to pimlen if this is going to happen we'll cut the mics
26:21in this space i have never seen this lady before this ever saying or doing anything she must be
26:26doing some plantation drive maybe with the government somewhere some photo ops i'm sorry
26:32because you're speaking that you're bringing us to speak to people working on clean air clean air
26:39means vehicle emissions it means compliances it means uh uh waste to energy it means a waste management
26:47it means industrial it means everything everything for us crackers means crackers it doesn't mean your
26:53you're so or you know uh torn apart between your festivities and your thing that i yes i as a mother
27:00it's a shame if i say that i want my children to breathe this toxicity um as you know and to balance i want
27:08to uh balance it with uh you know enjoy all this enjoyment whatever terms on the public one second
27:17sujata ji you are one second so can i just speak one thing which i have been witness of not going by
27:24personal account i have seen bhavreen and her kids at these right to breathe protests year after year
27:31she's been at it for quite some time and she actually does walk the talk that is just as an independent
27:36person that i'm telling you i've reported on these issues and i've seen her on the streets
27:39continuously like i've seen vimlendu jha as well mr jha uh like i'm saying it's not an easy decision
27:45you know this conversation is not just between what sujata believes versus what bhavreen believes
27:51when i go back home say in a place like up where awareness is not that much perhaps on the issue of
27:57pollution though they are waking up to it now even with the older generation i have this
28:02you know i have to also educate my elders to say that you know it's said to be auspicious but look
28:09what it's doing we have the data and evidence now let's not but i understand that this is not a
28:15comfortable conversation not one which goes down even when people don't want to burst crackers a lot
28:20of times they don't have a say in the house yeah so you know what we did 30 years ago 40 years ago or 20
28:27years ago we cannot be doing it today as i said earlier that you know you could immerse flowers
28:32in ganga or in yamuna because these rivers were actually clean today you cannot even throw you
28:37know organic flowers into it because it doesn't even have oxygen to take care of that organic material in
28:42that sense so if delhi's air quality was 20 25 you know and then we it was all changasi through the
28:48year uh it was okay to burst firecrackers twice uh two hours or five hours or six hours in that sense
28:54nobody is talking about festivity or love or affection or god or faith or everything else
29:00you're only talking about that right now when you have that data staring at you
29:05with some you know the the the reports that we have of the medical fraternity that talks about the
29:10kind of mortality and morbidity impact that overall air pollution has and overall by the way exactly
29:17miss panday should know that you know i perhaps appear on on your channel through the year on on
29:22various environmental issues and we are not in that sense and anyway we let's not even get there so
29:31we definitely need to work on on all these issues be transport with stubble burning with construction
29:38demolition dust waste and so on and so forth but we need to acknowledge that the kind of spike that the
29:44episodic source and event called diwali pataka that does that might be an overall seven percent average
29:52it's about you know saying you're saying you're saying you're saying you're saying you're saying
30:01if you're you're just having it in in one go so this is concentration we're talking about 20 to 30 times
30:07worse air quality that happens in those two hours and why should the data be you know the fact that our
30:13icu will run out of hospitals the fact that we're not able to breathe aren't your eyes burning already
30:20at 210 you know and is the situation not going to get worse so we need to really think about that as
30:26our children will be happier and more faithful and full with sentiments and live longer if we instead of
30:33firecrackers we give them a deep a dia a fool a meat high a neya kapda so we all yeah so you know we
30:45we should all understand yeah and that you know where supreme court fell in this trap and i feel so
30:51unfortunate and disgusted by supreme court trying to say that they're trying to balance it i don't have any
30:58fear actually a lot of balance has not been about faith in the order in the order mr jah they've
31:04actually said that they're balancing out industry demands so they're saying in the order that they've
31:10balanced industry demands with what the environment environmentalists have to say they've actually
31:14nowhere mentioned religion no so exactly so you know yesterday also when we were having a discussion
31:24it was a so-called balance between industry slash livelihood slash sentiment slash environment but
31:30in all of this where is health the impact of all of this it doesn't talk about what is this so-called
31:35industry that we're talking about which is completely powered 80 percent powered by child labor is the
31:40supreme court not aware of it aren't there enough slps already in that regard so that's where i
31:45somehow feel that for supreme court to you know it's that degenerative in these times when we are going
31:52through climate change crisis when we are going through air pollution crisis which is perennial
31:57therefore we expect our authorities and people in power and more so in the supreme court to really go
32:03strong and regulate this and regulation does not mean making every side happy by thoda sa to
32:09karne do pollution but what is this thoda sa karne do pollution and supreme court has also erred when it
32:15came to the vehicular uh pollution bit so today's topic is not that so we all need to be actually miss
32:21pande should also fight for the lungs like everyone is and she should be on the side of her children
32:27i just want to say that she's not she's not the only person saying this she's representing
32:32she's representing a lot of people who feel like her okay so let's not get personal against miss pande as
32:38well i'm not i'm not i'm sorry yeah yeah okay i'm sorry yes mr ja i want you to uh very quickly then
32:46this one i want to understand what's your projection for the months ahead uh my understanding was because
32:53of the flooding that took place in uh in in large parts of punjab because of the you know the mechanisms
33:01and the steps that have been taken both in punjab and haryana now to ensure that crop burning doesn't
33:06happen stubble burning doesn't happen things have improved over the years uh do you have an
33:11understanding of which way this will go this winter 2025 winter so soon as much as you know
33:18it will make some people happy that we actually gave a lot of disproportionate attention to stubble
33:24burning again stubble burning is a 50 60 day phenomena there is air is bad 365 days or at least 350 days
33:31uh in that sense uh this year of course we have had a long monsoon and therefore that count perhaps
33:37would be slightly better in the in in favor of our lungs uh in that sense but in coming months with
33:43the winter we haven't seen the winter arrive as yet the wind speed uh is you know is getting bad in
33:49the sense in terms of reducing uh and with that as there's no projection hope our investment of money
33:55the amount of money that we're going to burn on firecrackers wish we are we invest in actual
33:59projection and understanding and and really giving that know-how that infrastructure support to farmers
34:09okay let me fix that line uh with mr jah there sujata wants to come in uh sujata ji i want to
34:15understand this you see at the end of the day the issue of firecrackers the issue of stubble burning
34:21the issue of winters being very bad all of that is the top up the baseline pollution in delhi is so poor
34:29and that's got to do with our vehicles that's got to do with the way our industries operate as well
34:34anybody will tell you that we've run year after year that there were no good air days in delhi and
34:41you know even before the winter set and we were already 150 200 we are about touching 300 now this
34:47is without firecrackers this is without stubble burning so wouldn't you say that there needs to be
34:53something needs to be done at a calculated level now that delhi is with bjp now that center is with bjp
35:01now there needs to be the surrounding areas the neighboring states are also bjp now all of that is
35:07under your belt so to say isn't now the time when something concrete needs to be done
35:15and air quality needs to be made a priority wouldn't you say that today
35:22you know sonil of course nobody you know disagrees to a point that we as a country we need to work on
35:27all this and these are also sdg goals which our country is committed to but you know you just
35:33confirmed and the other panelists will also confirm that firecracker is not the only solution
35:37because he said see our new also confirmed that that delhi has this air pollution problem 365 days
35:43a year that means something else is a bigger issue which probably because of you know 100 other reasons
35:48is not coming into limelight that can be your industrial pollution because that that means around 51
35:54of the pollutants like i said 365 days 24 hours and you know all the all the time but nobody talks about
36:01it because hey because you got you know human development and modernization and economic
36:05development has a price so you know we need to be focused we need to find a solution with a pop
36:10with everything in in view because we have to make sure that the employments don't get affected we have
36:16to make sure that the people get people get their livelihood we also have to make sure that we do
36:20industrial progress but not at the cost of the human life that is 101 percent and that is why i said the
36:26court tried to make something you know someone address the root problem not just talk about just
36:34one second i'm getting a call just one second sorry so so the court tried to hold the ones who are
36:39accountable and address that okay now let's do this experiment let's see how much and how much is is
36:45the reduced you know air pollution because the court has asked for reports from all the control
36:52board the pollution control boards that once this is over i with the court will review that how has
36:59it uh has the pollution gone down compared to the last last year same time you know period and it will
37:05be compared and also it has said very specifically that this is a temporary decision this is not a long
37:10term you know you know goes for all so uh in my opinion that uh we are whether environmentalist or not
37:17with a person of faith or not you know we have to look at with a view that what is the middle path
37:24because we're living in not in a ideal world situation nothing is ideal you know not our um
37:30lungs neither the air nor the water not the food we are drinking i i hear you i hear you
37:35everything right right i just want to give you the middle part i mean here the course looks i
37:41hear you ma'am yes i hear you i just want to give the last word to bhavreen since she represents a
37:46lot of worried mothers i want to know what's your plan of action what are you going to do this diwali
37:52i have heard of this concept called publication that has come in where mothers including doctors
37:57i know of doctors personally who have prescribed to friends to say that listen winter is here delhi
38:02is no place for your kids pack them up go somewhere because this is not a problem that can be solved
38:08what hurts me is the fact that when it comes to air quality water quality etc there is no solution
38:15that can be done by you and me this is not a private solution department this is a public solution
38:21that is required so right now with green crackers allowed what is it that you're going to do
38:31uh sorry i just lost this i don't know if you can hear me i lost i can't hear you go ahead go ahead
38:37i was just asking what is it that you will do and you are urging mothers to do
38:45yes we we are at it i don't remember for a decade more than a decade now that some of the mothers who
38:52are on diwali at home and celebrating this we all putting together data complaints how how to make
38:58things better we are like the eyes and ears of the authorities so we are working on the ground to make
39:03things better but unfortunately it just doesn't work it's too huge the whole uh the damage is done
39:09and we see a you know next morning is an apocalypse and uh and it's not that it lasts for hours it starts
39:16affecting so now you see as of as of today we are in graph one post diwali we will immediately be
39:22you know jumping into the next uh level of pollution but yes uh uh you know uh we will continue to try
39:30we are mothers we cannot give up we cannot give up on our children their health we are every third
39:35child in the city has damaged we are speaking in the most polluted city of the world i don't think
39:43there are scopes for any mistakes no pollution is best and no no pollution is more everything matters
39:50everything matters and we we are not in a state to take decisions like this and it's very disheartening
39:56i will repeat that yeah the poor daughter's been super disheartening for us right just one thing
40:02babreen it's not very quickly it's also fathers fathers who are worried for their children
40:08that's a good point that's symbolic i know who can be better meaning than you or when i do you were
40:14yes you know okay on that on that lovely note on that lovely note and to have all the three
40:20panelists smiling and not fighting it's diwali guys like come on let's lighten up the mood a little bit
40:25thank you so much all three of you for joining us and participating in this very very important
40:29discussion clearly something that's been running on all our minds as well
40:38meanwhile the delhi environment minister majinder singh sirsa has welcomed the supreme court order
40:43allowing use of green crackers this festive season and i said that in if the weather conditions are
40:48favorable the government will conduct cloud seeding as well what is cloud seeding it's effectively or a
40:53a simpler way to understand that is artificial drain in the coming two to three days this comes a day
40:59after the air pollution body actually enforced curbs under the phase one of graded response action plan
41:04as the air quality index crossed 200 mark in the national capital
41:08oh
41:19now
41:22familiar with the
41:24why
41:26yes
41:28I
41:30I
41:32I
41:34I
41:36I
41:38I
41:40I
41:42I
41:44I
41:46I
41:48I
41:50I
41:52I
41:54I
41:56I
41:58I
42:00I
42:02I
42:04I
42:06I
42:08I
42:10I
42:12I
42:14I
42:16I
42:18I
42:20I
42:22I
42:24I
42:26I
42:28I
42:30I
42:32I
42:34I
42:36I
42:38I
42:40I
42:42I
42:44I
42:46I
42:48I
42:50I
42:52I
42:54I
42:56I
42:58I
43:00I
43:02I
43:04I
43:06I
43:08I
43:10I
43:12I
43:14I
43:16I
43:18I
43:20I
43:22I
43:24I
43:26I
43:28I
43:30I
43:32I
43:34I
43:36I
43:38I
43:40I
43:42I
43:44I
43:46I
43:48I
43:50I
43:52I
43:54I
43:56I
43:58I
44:00I
44:02I
44:04I
44:06I
44:08I
44:10I
44:12I
44:14I
44:16I
44:18I
44:20I
44:22I
44:24I
44:26I
44:28I
44:30I
44:32I
44:34I
44:36I
44:38I
44:40I
44:42I
44:44I
44:46I
44:48I
44:50I
44:52I
44:54I
44:56I
44:58I
45:00I
45:02I
45:04I
45:06I
45:08I
45:10I
45:12I
45:14I
45:16I
45:18I
45:20I
45:22I
45:24I
45:26I
45:28I
45:30I
45:32I
45:34I
45:36I
45:38I
45:40I
45:42I
45:44I
45:46I
45:48I
45:50I
45:52I
45:54I
45:56I
45:58I
46:00I
46:02I
46:04I
46:06I
46:08I
46:10I
46:12I
46:14I
46:16I
46:18I
46:20I
46:22I
46:24I
46:26I
46:28I
46:30I
46:32I
46:34I
46:36I
46:38I
46:40I
46:42I
46:44I
46:46I
46:48I
46:50I
46:52I
46:54I
46:56I
46:58I
47:00I
47:02I
47:04I
47:06I
47:08I
47:10I
47:12I
47:14I
47:16I
47:18I
47:20I
47:22I
47:24I
47:26I
47:28I
47:30I
47:32I
47:34I
47:36I
47:38I
47:40I
47:42I
47:44I
47:46I
47:48I
47:50I
47:52I
47:54I
47:56I
47:58I
48:00I
48:02I
48:04I
48:06I
48:08I
48:10I
48:12I
48:14I
48:16I
48:18I
48:20I
48:22I
48:24I
48:26I
48:28I
48:30I
48:32I
48:34I
48:36I
48:38I
48:40I
Recommended
2:07:02
|
Up next
0:43
1:19
2:14
Be the first to comment