New Delhi: The National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) and the Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) informed the Supreme Court on Tuesday that it is possible for cracker manufacturers in Sivakasi to produce ‘green crackers’ to curb environmental and air pollution.
A bench of justices AK Sikri and Abdul Nazeer, after taking on record the report submitted by the two scientific bodies in consultation with cracker manufacturers, asked the Centre and the petitioner to file a response to the report within a week and posted the matter for further hearing on March 12.
The top court, while banning the use of conventional firecrackers, permitted the use of green crackers with less emission and noise decibels provided it was approved by the expert committee constituted by it comprising NEERI and CSIR to suggest ways and means to develop green crackers.
The Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation was also asked to give its opinion on the development of green crackers.
Subsequently, experts from NEERI and CSIR conducted some field trials at the standard fireworks Factory in Sivakasi using certain additives along with barium and potassium, which according to the experts gave some positive results.
Earlier, senior advocates C.S. Vaidyanathan and Rajiv Datta, appearing for the manufacturers, pleaded that the court should pass some interim orders for resumption of manufacture of crackers as about 8 lakh families depend for their livelihood on the hundreds of cracker manufacturing units in Tamil Nadu and other parts of the country.
