The state pollution control board has asked all licensed fireworks makers in West Bengal to produce only green fireworks — the ones that are cleared by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI).
“Previously, we had 57 authorised fireworks manufacturing units. We are updating the list. These units will not be able to manufacture anything other than green fireworks, which are cleared by NEERI,” said Rajesh Kumar, member secretary of the board.
Green fireworks are expected to create less pollution compared with the conventional ones.
Last year, the Supreme Court had ruled that only green fireworks could be manufactured and used and asked NEERI, a central agency, to prepare the formulation for green fireworks.
“Last year, the PCB had only allowed green fireworks during Diwali, but no unit in the state had applied for the licence to manufacture green fireworks,” state pollution control board(PCB) chairman Kalyan Rudra said.
“This year about 50 fireworks manufacturers have been trained by NEERI. Of them, 22 sent their green fireworks to the NEERI headquarters in Nagpur. Ten have received clearances and we expect the others to be cleared as well,” said Subhankar Manna, who represents the Fireworks Manufacturers’ Association.
Sadhana Rayalu, a senior scientist at NEERI overseeing the testing, told The Telegraph on Friday: “We received samples from Bengal and many of them have been cleared.”
Many manufacturers are sceptical about whether they will get the final clearance in time to be able to go for mass production this year.
“After getting the PCB’s clearance, there are several other hurdles that a manufacturer needs to clear before going for mass production.The hurdles include getting a series of permissions,” said Manna.
Biswajit Mukherjee, former chief law officer of the board, urged action against illegal fireworks units.