The Supreme Court on Friday ordered a ban on the sale of firecrackers in Delhi and the surrounding National Capital Region because of growing pollution. The court also asked the Central Pollution Control Board to filed report on the harmful effects of the firecrackers in three months, ANI reported.

The court said the ban would be enforced from Friday itself and there would be no change in the status till further order. Environmentalists had been seeking a court order banning the sale of firecrackers because of increasing levels of pollution in the national capital and the surrounding region.

On November 11, a three-judge bench of headed by Chief Justice TS Thakur said the court would take all information and aspects in the case into account and pass an interim order for a limited period. This would include directing the Centre to suspend and not renew the licence to possess, stock and sell firecrackers in the Delhi-National Capital Region. On November 7, Delhi Lieutenant-Governor Najeeb Jung directed authorities to ban firecrackers in the region during occasions other than religious festivals.

Air quality in Delhi-NCR saw an alarming drop following Diwali celebrations on October 30. As a result of the smog that clouded the national Capital, schools remained closed for three days starting November 7. The National Green Tribunal had also declared an environmental emergency in Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh, and had recommended measures to help curb air pollution in these states.