india

Updated: Oct 23, 2019 23:59 IST

Chennai: A shutdown following the Supreme Court’s ban in October last year on the use of certain chemicals for the production of firecrackers has hit production and is likely to impact revenue for the second year in a row, according to manufacturers in the country’s fireworks’ production hub, Tamil Nadu’s Sivakasi

The confusion and delay in the certification for what a green cracker is as well as the stricter implementation of rules have also hurt the industry.

Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers Association (TNFAMA) president P Ganesan said its members had gone on a strike from November 2018 to March 2019 after the Supreme Court banned barium nitrate, a major substance used to make 60% of crackers. “It [strike] ended after we got green cracker formulations from the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research [CSIR] and the National Environment Engineering Research Institute [NEERI[...on what constitutes a green cracker,’’ said Ganesan.

Ganesan added manufacturers have had just about 7-8 months to adapt to the new chemical formulations and limited time to produce the crackers for this year’s Diwali. He estimated that production would be down by about 20% to 30% this year. Ganesan added that they had also been unable put special symbols in many cases specifying crackers that were green because of lack of sufficient time.

Crackers made without lithium, barium, lead, and arsenic are called green crackers. They emit very low smoke and noise. About 30% of emissions can be reduced with the use of green crackers, according to CSIR and NEERI.

Sanjeevi Kumar, a fireworks manufacturers, estimated the dip in business to be nearly Rs 1,000 crore this year because of the insufficient time to produce green crackers.

The chief executive officer (CEO) of another company, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO) had given the go-ahead to only 28 manufacturers to make green crackers.

Sivakasi has 1,078 registered firecracker manufacturing units, which employ around eight lakh people. Manufacturers say 90% of the fireworks in the country are supplied from Sivakasi and they generate about Rs 6,000 crore annual revenue.

The CEO said that many units are reluctant in sending their products particularly to the National Capital Region (NCR). “If any activist finds even something slightly wrong with our fireworks, it will be contempt of the court and have legal consequences.”

HT on Wednesday reported that flowerpots and sparklers, mostly produced in NCR and states like Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan, are the only types of green crackers available in the market this year in Delhi so far.

A bulk of Sivakasi crackers have traditionally been supplied to Mumbai, Ahmedabad, and Delhi. “About 30% of the total production was sold in the NCR....,” said another manufacturer.

Some manufacturers said there was also confusion among fireworks units as PESO had not approved CSRI-EERI formulations for green crackers.

A PESO official, who did not want to be identified, said that the organisation would need at least a year to test the formulations. “We have tested five kinds of varieties of the CSRI and NEERI formulations. We have not checked the rest. Therefore, we have given the go head to only 28 companies. The formulations have to pass 15 tests including for the noise levels, pollution levels, friction sensitivity and safety,” the official said.

A NEERI official said that 230 fireworks manufacturers had signed a Memorandum of Understanding for using the formulations. “After signing the MOUs, 165 companies have signed a non-disclosure agreement,” said the official on condition of anonymity.