Why it is in news?

• Apex court bans sale of firecrackers in Delhi-NCR till 1 November

SC verdict

• The Supreme Court on  suspended the sale of firecrackers in Delhi and NCR till November 1, 2017
• Aim:  to test whether a Deepavali without firecrackers
• It is hoped that it will have a “positive effect” on the health of citizens and a steadily deteriorating air quality.
• A ban on bursting crackers, however, was not made explicit in the verdict.
• Those who have purchased firecrackers can still burst them on Diwali.
• SC observed that rise in air pollution during last Diwali was because of several reasons, including the extensive use of firecrackers.

What is NCR?

• The National Capital Region (NCR) is a coordinated planning region centred upon the National Capital Territory of Delhi in India. It encompasses the entire NCT of Delhi and several districts surrounding it from the states of Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
• The NCR and the associated National Capital Region Planning Board were created in 1985 to plan the development of the region and to evolve harmonized policies for the control of land-uses and development of infrastructure in the region.
•  Prominent cities of NCR include Delhi, Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Noida and Muzaffarnagar.