New Delhi, Oct. 23 -- A box of 10 rockets for Rs.350, four packs of spinners for Rs.800 and two packs of fountain bombs for Rs.450 were among the firecrackers bought by 15-year-old Chirag at Sadar Bazaar on Monday. He had come to one of the Capital's largest firecracker markets with a friend, hoping to beat the Diwali rush and score the best deals. After a 20-minute wait, he walked away with his haul - 15 boxes for just Rs.3,000. The ease with which teenagers could purchase firecrackers, including products not openly displayed, would be unremarkable in an ordinary festive season. In Delhi, however, it raised questions about enforcement, accountability and the meaning of environmental restrictions in a city where the air quality index has already started plummeting ahead of what is like to be yet another spell of winter toxic air. With more than two weeks to go before Diwali, firecrackers are being sold openly across the Capital, even as the Delhi government is yet to notify its decision on their sale and use. A visit by HT to three major markets - Jama Masjid, Sadar Bazaar and Shakti Nagar - found vendors displaying products labelled "green crackers", "pollution-free" and "zero pollution", while other firecrackers were available on request, often from nearby warehouses or concealed stocks. The Supreme Court earlier this month declined to impose a blanket ban on firecrackers, permitting the use of new-generation green crackers while emphasising the need to balance environmental concerns with public sentiment. It also gave the Centre and expert bodies until October 15 to assess the impact of barium content in the so-called green crackers on air quality. The matter is likely to be heard on October 29. Last year, after several years of a blanket ban, the Supreme Court permitted regulated sales between October 18 and 20, with bursting allowed only on October 19 and 20, during specified morning and evening hours. Yet, as HT reported, the restrictions were widely violated. The consequences of firecracker use are not abstract. On Wednesday, a day after Dussehra celebrations, Delhi's air quality index (AQI) worsened from 179 at 4pm on Tuesday to 245 at the same time the following day. Experts attributed much of the deterioration to widespread firecracker use during Dussehra, which added to the city's pollution burden. Visits to markets weeks before Diwali show that the distinction between permission on paper and what is happening on the ground is stark. Outside Gate No 3 of Jama Masjid, at least 10 carts lined the lane, displaying firecrackers with labels promising "pollution-free" celebrations. HT purchased six such boxes of firecrackers from the market. Only two carried QR codes. While one could not be scanned despite repeated attempts, the other linked to a PDF catalogue listing products on offer. A QR code is meant to help verify that a firecracker is a certified green cracker approved by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute....