The nearly unregulated industry of fireworks had reduced Diwali, the Hindu festival of light, into a chaos of ear-splitting, dazzling and, sometimes, deadly spectacle that added fumes and smoke to India’s already toxic air. Over the years, things had reached such an impasse that the Supreme Court had to intervene last year. Stopping short of a blanket ban, it allowed manufacturing and sale of only green firecrackers with emission and decibel levels 30 per cent lower than conventional levels.
A year on, are we ready to enjoy an eco-friendly Diwali? The answer is yes if one is to believe Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan, who last week unveiled a line of “green” firecrackers. He claimed that the new fireworks would “resolve the crisis of air pollution”, cut down on noise, and retail at the same price, or even cheaper, than banned models. Industry experts are, however, uneasy and doubtful. Though the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and National Environmental Engineering Institute (NEERI) began work on designing the court-mandated green crackers and also conducted some trials, it was only in March this year that some clarity emerged on the issue.
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When the Petroleum and Safety Explosives Organisation (PESO) began to give out licences for manufacture of green crackers, only a handful of them (six in the fireworks complex of Sivakasi in the South and 24 units in North India) could get them. Moreover, though CSIR and NEERI had recommended using barcodes or QR codes on all fireworks to identify genuine manufacturers and the SC accepted the same in March this year, the government gave its concurrence only in October, by which time the manufacturers had already shipped out most of the stock.
In an affidavit, the Tamil Nadu Fireworks & Amorces Manufacturers’ Association (TANFAMA) has already urged the apex court to defer the implementation of the QR code system along with the green cracker logo for products by a year. It is unarguable that conventional firecrackers had not only become a major contributor to air pollution but also a dangerous health hazard. The SC intervention was, therefore, long overdue.
How strictly can the court’s mandate for a green and eco-friendly Diwali be implemented this year remains to be seen. However, if one is looking for green crackers, it will be impossible to identify them in the absence of any labelling. Considering that very few units have got the official nod to produce them, manufacturers’ claim that almost all the crackers they have produced have been as per “green” norms will hold little water. It looks like environment-conscious folks will have to wait yet another year for a green Diwali.
Meanwhile, the law and order authorities have their task cut out. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) has warned all investigating and intelligence agencies that a huge quantity of hazardous Chinese firecrackers has started reaching India illegally. The Chinese crackers are not only dangerous for the environment but are also against Explosives Rules, 2008, as they contain banned chemicals. While doing everything to encourage the Indian firecracker industry to go totally green for next Diwali, the central and state governments must step up their efforts to stop the use of Chinese crackers this Diwali.
( The author can be contacted at yogesh.vajpeyi@gmail.com )