Bursting of firecrackers on Diwali in Delhi will attract jail term up to six months and a fine of Rs 200 (£2), the state's environment minister Gopal Rai said on Wednesday (19).
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, he said production, storage, and sale of firecrackers in the capital will be punishable with a fine of up to Rs 5,000 (£54) and three years in jail under Section 9B of the Explosives Act.
In September, the city government re-imposed a complete ban on the production, sale and use of all types of firecrackers till January 1, including on Diwali, a practice it has been following for the last two years.
Rai said a public awareness campaign, "Diye Jalao Patakhe Nahi" (Light lamps, do not burst crackers), will be launched on October 21.
The Delhi government will light 51,000 'diyas' (earthen lamps) at Central Park in Connaught Place on Friday (21).
"The purchase and bursting of firecrackers in Delhi will be punishable with a fine of Rs 200 and six months in jail under the Indian Penal Code," the minister said. Rai said 408 teams have been set up to implement the ban.
The Delhi Police has set up 210 teams under assistant commissioners of police, while the revenue department has set up 165 teams and the Delhi Pollution Control Committee has constituted 33 teams.
The minister said 188 cases of violations have been detected and 2,917 kilograms of firecrackers seized till October 16.
This photograph taken on April 28, 2026 shows a boy getting "thali", a sacred thread tied to his neck symbolising marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom.Getty Images
This photograph taken on April 29, 2026 shows a member of the transgender community mourning as a priest cuts the "thali", a sacred thread symbolising end of her marriage to Hindu warrior god Aravan during the annual Koovagam transgender festival at the Koothandavar temple in Tamil Nadu's Kallakurichi district. For a few fleeting days each year, at the heart of the Koothandavar Temple where ostracised transgender community members from across India come to honour the Hindu deity Aravan, a tradition rooted in millennia-old Hindu texts -- and to enjoy a brief oasis of freedom. Getty Images