Not just Delhi-NCR, all states will burst green crackers, say Sivakasi firecracker manufacturers

Chennai: Not just Delhi-NCR, but all states will burst green crackers, as most of them have switched to producing them exclusively, said Sivakasi firecracker manufacturers.

Amid the debate over the efficacy of green crackers, the Supreme Court on Wednesday gave its nod for bursting green crackers in Delhi and the National Capital Region (NCR) during the festival with certain conditions.

The court made it clear that use of green crackers will be confined to specific hours on the day before Diwali and on the festival day itself. However, the sale of green crackers will permitted from October 18 to 21.

"Green crackers" are made using proprietary additives developed by CSIR-NEERI (Council of Scientific and Industrial Research-National Environmental Engineering Research Institute).

“Back in 2018, we studied the emission level of every cracker in the market -- from Lakshmi bombs and flowerpots to chakras -- and established a base level for emission,” said R J Krupadam, Senior Principal Scientist, Environmental Material Division of CSIR-NEERI, Nagpur, to PTI.

He said initially, it was possible to bring down the emission by 30 to 35 per cent from this base level, but now they are working towards 50 per cent.

R Balaji, owner of Sri Balaji Fire Works Industries, Sivakasi, said as it involved merely adding additives to the already existing formula, it had been easier to transition to “green crackers”.

“For the last four years, we have been manufacturing 100 per cent green crackers in our factory,” he added.

Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers’ Association (TANFAMA) Vice-President G Abiruben said traditional crackers are now mostly being made by illegal manufacturers.

“Even small manufacturers in Sivakasi are preferring to switch to the new formula as the Supreme Court came down heavily on the industry in October 2018, while banning barium nitrate as oxidizer. This would mean most shops will sell green crackers as Sivakasi manufacturers contribution is nearly 95 per cent," he added.

Abiruben, who owns one of the well-known brands in the market, Ayyan Fireworks, recalled how the factory floors of Sivakasi became NEERI’s lab in 2018, as it was “a nightmare” to transport firecrackers in smaller batches to Nagpur for testing.

“The first breakthrough came in about three and a half months. Since then, a set of manufacturers have been working closely with NEERI testing each product in small batches to ensure that green crackers are not only low on emission, but also safe to use,” added Abiruben.

They have come a long way in the last seven years, added Krupadam. Now they even have a specialised testing facility in Sivakasi that was set up under public-private- partnership (PPP) model.

“Firecracker manufacturers contributed 40 per cent of the cost involved, while NEERI along with the Ministry of Environment, government of India, contributed 60 per cent,” added Krupadam.

This has made it possible to conduct extensive tests, he added.

“We even have isolated instances where we could reduce emission by 75 to 80 per cent, but these need further safety checks. What is possible is a 50 per cent reduction in emission on a commercial scale in a couple of years,” said Krupadam.

According to Krupadam, emission created by the combustion process -- like in the case of firecrackers – can be lowered by increasing the combustion temperature with the help of additives.

“We are also experimenting on additives that could add water droplets on combustion so that emission particles settle faster. Another area we are researching is the capacity to capture dust particles, thus preventing their scattering in the atmosphere,” said Krupadam.

He also said NEERI ensured that these additives are made available to manufacturers at a nominal cost.

“It’s a win-win, since manufacturers register their formulations with us in exchange. This gives us a base to work on. So far, 1,403 manufacturers from across the country, but majority from Sivakasi, have registered with us,” said Krupadam.

As for supplying Delhi, Abiruben said dealers of all the four massive states -- Punjab, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana -- are fully stocked as they have built facilities with good storage capacity.

Ever since the GST was put in place, moving crackers from one state to another has become easier, he said.

“Earlier, we were required to fill C-forms from particular states where the buyers are from, but now GST can be billed by anyone and from anywhere. So, free movement of material is possible,” said Abiruben.

"Delhi-NCR was a huge market for us, contributing nearly 20 per cent to my overall sale. So, yes, an earlier decision could have been favourable for us. Now, distributors from states like Punjab and Uttar Pradesh are reaping all the benefits," said Jayashankar, who partly owns Naya Carnation Fireworks, which he said used to distribute crackers directly to retailers in Delhi-NCR until a couple of years ago.