Green Crackers: Supreme Court, Arjun Gopal Case, Barium and Emission Norms

Subject: GS 02: Polity & Governance

Context: Recently, the Supreme Court, in Arjun Gopal v. Union of India, favoured conditional relaxation for specified next-generation joined green crackers, based on CSIR-NEERI findings of lower emissions and solid-waste generation compared with conventional joined crackers.

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Key Highlights of the Supreme Court Judgment

• Conditional Relaxation: The Court indicated that specified next-generation joined crackers (laris) could be permitted subject to prescribed conditions on shell size, shell number, bursting interval, noise and emissions.

• No Blanket Ban: The Court did not favour a nationwide total ban while also ruling out unrestricted, round-the-clock bursting, indicating a regulated approach based on specified cracker types and time windows.
• Lower Emissions: CSIR-NEERI testing found around 30% lower emissions from the specified next-generation joined crackers compared with conventional joined crackers.
• Barium Issue: The question of barium-containing green crackers remains subject to further scientific assessment, with outdoor testing being undertaken at Delhi, Bhopal, Kolkata and Chennai.

About Green Crackers

• Green crackers are fireworks developed with modified chemical formulations and designs to reduce particulate emissions, harmful chemicals, noise and solid waste compared with conventional fireworks.
• Barium Restriction: The Supreme Court had earlier directed that barium salts should not be used in fireworks, making the development of alternative formulations an important technological objective.
• Certification: Green crackers require compliance with prescribed formulation, emission and noise standards, with scientific assessment involving CSIR-NEERI and safety/licensing oversight involving PESO.

Scientific Innovations in Green Crackers

• SWAS: Safe Water Releaser (SWAS) uses a formulation designed to release water vapour/air during ignition, helping suppress dust and dilute emissions.
• SAFAL: Safe Minimal Aluminium (SAFAL) significantly reduces aluminium content to lower particulate emissions.
• STAR: Safe Thermite Cracker (STAR) uses a formulation designed to reduce particulate and gaseous emissions through changes in oxidising and fuel components.
• Next-Generation Joined Crackers: Smaller shells, controlled shell numbers and longer intervals between bursts help reduce noise, emissions and solid waste.
• Barium Alternatives: Research is aimed at replacing or reducing barium-based compounds and developing formulations with lower environmental impact.

Need for Such Actions

• Air Pollution: Firecrackers release PM2.5, PM10 and gaseous pollutants, adding to the pollution burden during the festive season.
• Winter Pollution: Firecracker emissions can compound existing post-monsoon and winter pollution, particularly when low temperatures and atmospheric stability restrict dispersion.
• Noise Pollution: High-intensity fireworks can cause excessive noise exposure, particularly affecting children, elderly persons, patients and animals.
• Chemical Pollution: Restricting harmful chemical ingredients can reduce the environmental and health impacts of fireworks.
• Cumulative Airshed Effect: Even lower-emission crackers can contribute substantially to overall pollution when large quantities are used simultaneously across a geographically connected airshed such as the Indo-Gangetic Plain, particularly under winter inversion conditions.

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Government and Scientific Initiatives

• CSIR-NEERI Research: Council of Scientific & Industrial Research – National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI) has developed and tested reduced-emission formulations and provided technical inputs for green-cracker standards.
• Green Logo and QR Code: A green logo and QR-code mechanism has been introduced to help identify certified green crackers and address counterfeiting.
• Emission Testing: Scientific testing focuses on particulate emissions, chemical composition and noise levels to assess compliance.
• Multi-Institutional Assessment: The current process involves coordination among CSIR-NEERI, CPCB, PESO and the Union Government for scientific assessment, regulation and safety.

Challenges that need to be Tackled

• Counterfeit Green Crackers: Fake QR codes, labels and non-certified products can undermine the credibility of the green-cracker framework.
• Field-Level Testing Gap: While formulations can be tested and certified at the institutional level, local enforcement personnel may lack rapid, portable mechanisms to verify whether a cracker contains prohibited chemicals such as barium.
• Multi-Agency Coordination: Effective implementation requires coordination among CSIR-NEERI, PESO, CPCB, State Police and District Administration.
• Compliance Monitoring: Ensuring that manufacturers actually use the approved formulation throughout production remains difficult.
• Cumulative Pollution: A reduction in emissions per cracker does not automatically eliminate the overall pollution burden when large volumes are simultaneously used across densely populated regions.
• Regional Airshed Conditions: The impact of fireworks varies with meteorology, background pollution, population density and atmospheric dispersion, making uniform regulation challenging.

Way Forward

• Technology-Based Enforcement: Develop portable field-testing mechanisms and strengthen QR-based traceability to identify non-compliant crackers.
• Tamper-Proof Certification: Integrate tamper-resistant packaging, digital traceability and manufacturer-level verification.
• Unified Enforcement: Improve coordination between scientific institutions, licensing authorities, pollution-control agencies and local enforcement bodies.
• Cleaner Innovation: Continue research into barium-free, low-particulate and low-noise formulations.
• Time-Bound Regulation: Use clearly defined bursting windows based on local air-quality and meteorological conditions.
• Industry Transition: Support manufacturers in adopting cleaner technologies and compliant production processes, while protecting legitimate livelihoods.

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Conclusion

The Arjun Gopal proceedings demonstrate an evolving approach towards science-based and calibrated environmental regulation. Effective outcomes will depend not only on cleaner cracker technology but also on credible certification, field-level enforcement, airshed-based pollution management and time-bound regulation.

News Source: The Hindu

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