Assess how far green crackers can reconcile festive traditions with air-quality goals.

Green crackers are firecrackers made to CSIR-NEERI formulations. They are meant to cut PM2.5 emissions by at least 25–30% compared with conventional crackers [1]. The Supreme Court has conditionally allowed joined crackers (chorsa), provided they are made only from green crackers [2]. This makes green crackers the chosen middle path. However, they reduce the conflict between festivals and clean air rather than resolve it.

How far they reconcile the two

• The tradition continues: the approach regulates crackers instead of banning them outright. In 2019 the SC allowed fireworks at temple festivities on the condition that barium was not used [1].
• Emissions fall by a measurable amount: PM2.5 drops by 25–30%, and the formulations avoid barium salts, which the Court has banned [1].
• Livelihoods are protected: joined crackers alone make up about 20% of fireworks output. Conditional permission keeps the Sivakasi cluster viable, which makes pollution curbs easier to accept [2].
• Standards can keep improving: formulations need PESO approval. A technical committee of PESO/DPIIT, CPCB and CSIR-NEERI was to review formulations every six months [1].

Where they fall short

• Cleaner, not clean: most of the emissions remain. In 2023 the SC asked whether the remaining particulate matter "would continue to be a health hazard" where the air is already polluted [1].
• Festival spikes: most bursting happens in a few hours. A doctor's affidavit cited by the SC recorded more patients during the festival season from toxic gases and metallic compounds [1]. Chorsa add to this because many crackers go off at once.
• Targets not yet met: the goal of a 50–70% emission cut is still unmet. The Court said "further efforts are necessary" [1].
• Weak enforcement: a CBI enquiry found barium being stocked despite the ban. PESO–NEERI minutes noted that unregulated manufacturers skip quality checks [1]. A green cracker cannot be told apart from an ordinary one just by looking at it.

Green crackers therefore reconcile tradition with air quality only partly: they make celebrations less harmful, not harmless. Two steps proposed in 2019 would help: QR-code or barcode tracking of every product and NEERI-led testing of raw materials [1]. With these, published formulation reviews and continued research towards the 50–70% target, green crackers can serve both the Article 21 right to a healthy environment and India's festive heritage, in line with SDG 3 and SDG 11.