‘Hari Phuljhari’ is a deep dive into the implementation of the Supreme Court’s orders regulating the manufacture and use of firecrackers. Four years after the order to use only ‘green firecrackers’ and on the eve of the first blanket ban on firecrackers, air quality levels continue to touch unprecedented levels in Delhi-NCR post Diwali. Various parties, including religious groups, animal-rights activists, firecracker sellers, and manufacturer associations, have intervened in the matter.

It is the first of five upcoming short documentaries, produced by Vidhi and Riverbank Studios, on key environmental issues in India. The documentaries and the case briefs are the culmination of a year-long research project tracking landmark judgments and orders of the Supreme Court and the National Green Tribunal, on a wide range of issues and across different geographies- the firecrackers ban, pollution in Patancheru, Telangana, dams in Uttarakhand, waste management in Delhi and wildlife corridors around Kaziranga National Park. Read more about the project here.