SUPREME COURT: RELAXING THE FIRECRACKER BAN ON A TEST CASE BASIS The Supreme Court has relaxed the complete ban on the sale and use of firecrackers in the Delhi-National Capital Region (NCR) on the occasion of Diwali, allowing government-approved "green crackers" on a "trial basis". The order is said to seek to strike a balance between the livelihood concerns of the firecracker industry, festive traditions, and the public health crisis caused by air pollution in the region every winter. The court's decision came after both the central government and the Delhi government supported the conditional relaxation, which is a temporary one, modifying earlier orders. WHAT ARE THE NEW DIRECTIONS FROM THE COURT? The Supreme Court has laid down a strict regulatory framework for this temporary relaxation. The key directions are: Only green crackers , as approved by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), can be sold...