Rajasthan's ban on crackers and case in NGT give jitters to Sivakasi

Uncertainty looms large over the multi-crore fireworks' industry in Sivakasi yet again with the Rajasthan Government imposing a blanket ban on sale and bursting of firecrackers this Deepavali season.

Adding further to the woes of the industry, which has already suffered losses this year due to the lockdown and dip in sales owing to Covid-19 scare, is a fresh case before the National Green Tribunal (NGT) seeking a ban on bursting of crackers in the National Capital Region (NCR).

Rajasthan contributes to 12 percent of the market share for the fireworks' manufactures who rake in nearly Rs 400 crores a year by selling crackers in the northern state. The manufacturers in Sivakasi, 540 km from here, say the industry would suffer a "permanent damage" if other state governments follow suit.

They said the ban by Rajasthan Government is wrong at "many levels" as majority of the products that go out of their factories have been certified as "green crackers" by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI), a constituent lab of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

Green crackers are found to reduce emission of 2.5 particulate material by 30 to 35 percent and emit 125 decibels compared to 160 emitted by conventional crackers.

"Even a single state banning firecrackers is a setback for the industry. We will implead in the case before NGT. We will tell the court on how the industry has followed the Supreme Court instructions on producing green crackers and argue that the ban was unnecessary since green crackers are proved to be less emission crackers," P Ganesan, President, Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers Association (TANFAMA), told DH.

He added that TANFAMA would move the Supreme Court if they do not get a favourable order from NGT in the case filed by Indian Social Responsibility Network. Deepavali will be celebrated across India on November 14.

Another manufacturer said if the ban in Rajasthan is not lifted and a ban in NCR comes into effect, production for next year will be delayed by a few months, resulting in losses to the tune of crores of rupees yet again.

"We begin production based on orders from dealers. If the ban in Rajasthan is not lifted, why will the dealers there place new orders when they have huge stockpile. The dealers will wait till the stock is over. If there is no orders, the production will not begin. Banning firecrackers at the last minute will finish off the industry as over 80 percent of stocks have already been moved to north Indian states," he said.

P N Deva, Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) secretary of Virudhunagar district, said any delay in production would affect the labourers more than the manufacturers. “Already the labourers went jobless for 55 due to lockdown and if the factories do not open immediately after Deepavali, they will be put to severe inconvenience. Labourers depend on daily wages and any further shut down of factories will only aggravate their sufferings,” he said.

Fireworks' manufacturers in Sivakasi begin production for the next Deepavali a few weeks after the festivities end based on advance payment from dealers and buyers across the country.

T Kannan of The Indian Fireworks' Manufacturers Association (TIFMA) said Rajasthan is one of the major markets for the industry and questioned the need for banning firecrackers which is burst on the day of Deepavali while allowing polluting industries to run through the year.

"We want to know why are we being targeted all the time. Why is that a petition is being filed at the last minute? Our firecrackers are approved by government-appointed bodies and yet we are accused of polluting the air. Firecrackers dissipate within a few hours but what about industries that continue to pollute round-the-clock?" he asked.

The fireworks' industry is worth anywhere between Rs 3,000 crore to Rs 6,000 crore and was hoping to recover from the losses due to a slew of court cases this year. But Covid-19 threatens to spoil the anticipated recovery.