Crackers ban lifted in Delhi-NCR: Fireworks manufacturers in Tamil Nadu's Sivakasi prepare for market revival

Sivakasi, which manufactures about 90% of the fire crackers sold in the country, shifted to green crackers, a fairly new concept, to reduce noise and air pollution after the Supreme Court in 2018 banned Barium Nitrate and recommended usage of crackers that are less harmful to the environment.

Chennai: Though the Supreme Court's lifting of the ban on bursting crackers in the Delhi-NCR region during Deepavali may not benefit them this festival season, fireworks manufacturers in Tamil Nadu's Sivakasi on Wednesday welcomed the verdict, saying the industry hopes it will lead to generating additional employment and revenue if the relaxation continues in the years to come.

The manufacturers said they won’t be able to ship any fresh goods from Sivakasi to Delhi-NCR, which comprised about 15 per cent of the fireworks market, this Deepavali as the festival is just about a few days away from now – the transit period from Sivakasi to Delhi is about six days.

They added the maximum that fireworks manufacturers can do at this stage is to divert some portion of the stock from other north Indian states to Delhi-NCR market.

“This is fantastic news for the industry, which has been fighting one legal battle after the other. If the order is made permanent, we can generate employment for lakhs of labourers as we will have to cater to the Delhi-NCR market, which is around 15 per cent,” P Ganesan, President, Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers’ Association (TANFAMA), told DH.

Almost all manufacturers who were supplying to Delhi-NCR market till 2018 – the year the ban on bursting fire crackers was imposed – had found replacement for that share from other markets. “So, if the SC allows bursting of crackers every year, many manufacturers will have to increase their production capacities from early 2026. This will give us additional revenue and help employ more people,” Ganesan added.

Sivakasi, which manufactures about 90 per cent of the fire crackers sold in the country, shifted to green crackers, a fairly new concept, to reduce noise and air pollution after the Supreme Court in 2018 banned Barium Nitrate and recommended usage of crackers that are less harmful to the environment. The industry is worth about Rs 6,000 crores and is now gearing up to export fireworks to other countries from the Chennai Port.

Firecracker manufacturers in Sivakasi say the new formula has resulted in reduction of noise by 30 per cent compared to conventional crackers. With this order, the entire country will now get to burst green crackers.

Another manufacturer said Delhi-NCR is considered a prestige market for the industry and it is unfortunate that they cannot serve the region this year as well despite the SC order.

“Almost all companies have shipped their orders within and outside Tamil Nadu and there is no way that we can cater to the Delhi-NCR market. We will speak to our dealers in north India and see if they can spare a portion to Delhi. The companies will have to scale their production next year to cater to the new market that has opened up,” he added.

T Kannan, General Secretary, The Indian Fireworks Manufacturers’ Association (TIFMA), welcomed the judgement saying it has vindicated the long-held stand of the Sivakasi industry that fire crackers were not the sole reason for pollution in Delhi-NCR.

“We have to read the full order but this judgement will go a long way in saving our industry. We were unfairly targeted for pollution in Delhi even though people knew crackers were being burst only for a few days in a year. We are happy that people in the national capital can now enjoy Deepavali by bursting crackers,” Kannan added.

Of Tamil Nadu’s 1,482 fireworks factories, 1,085 operate in and around Sivakasi, known as ‘Little Japan’ for its skilled workforce. Hundreds of thousands of labourers, 55% of whom are women, painstakingly produce crackers by hand without machines for eight to nine months a year.