Firing up
the Fireworks Debate (EPW)
Issue: Supreme
Court passed interim orders banning the sale of fireworks in the NCR
Larger Issue: Whether
fireworks should be permitted for personal use. Why can’t there be a complete
or a partial ban on use of fireworks in India as in other countries?
GS Paper: III; Topic:
Environment
In the days after thick post-Diwali smog engulfed
Delhi in early November, the Supreme Court passed interim orders banning the
sale of fireworks. It suspended all licences permitting their sale in the
National Capital Region (NCR) and froze the granting of new licences and
renewals.
Laws, Rules and Judgements on this issue:
In India, fireworks are regulated under:
(1) Explosives
Act, 1884
(2) Explosives
Rules, 2008
(3) Guidelines of the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (the licensing
body)
(4) Supreme
Court’s 2005 judgement, considered a landmark: It reiterated past
judgments’ complete ban on the bursting of sound-emitting firecrackers between
10 pm and 6 am, and emphasised that relaxations may not be granted for any
religious or social occasions. It found that the regulation of fireworks by
chemical composition, size, and weight at the pre-manufacturing stage is more
effective than regulating them on the basis of noise and chemical pollution
after they are manufactured.
It is clear, then, that there is no dearth of
regulations and guidelines, which have all been in place for some time now.
Recent instances of explosions and fires due to the
use of Firecrackers:
(1) Fire at the “Make
in India” event at Mumbai’s Girgaum Chowpatty in February, 2016.
(2) Kerala
temple fire in April.
(3) 42 fire
incidents reported in Mumbai during the Diwali festivities.
Way Ahead (Immediate terms)
It is high time that the extant regulations and
guidelines that apply to fireworks are implemented.
(1) A starting point is making it a precondition that licences for manufacture of fireworks
will be issued only if chemical composition checks and fire safety precautions
are up to the mark.
(2) The second equally important aspect is the sale of
fireworks, which too needs to be kept in check under the existing regulations. Licences to sell should be
provided only after fire safety precautions are met.
(3) Restricting
the number of days that their sale is allowed (during festivals) and restricting the categories of fireworks
that can be sold to individuals for personal use (such as selling only those
fireworks that do not explode or leave the ground) will ensure that not only
health and environmental hazards, but also fire hazards are greatly reduced.
Way Ahead (Medium to Long term)
(1) The 2005
Supreme Court judgment had also suggested that we move towards a community-based celebration with
respect to the usage of fireworks, where a suitable place and time are
earmarked and people can gather together to view a fireworks display, thus
reducing personal use and the hazards that accompany unregulated usage.
(2) Rather than just interim orders, we need clear
directives that will regulate and restrict what, as the Court has stated in its
2005 judgment, is a “public hazard”
and a violation of fundamental rights.
(3) Need for Partial to Complete ban on fireworks: While
Chinese firecrackers have been blamed for the pollution and environmental
problems caused by fireworks, we forget that, in China, more than 138 cities have banned fireworks and 536 cities
have restricted their sale and usage. In fact, in many countries around
the world, restrictions on fireworks range from complete bans to partial bans
on and regulations for their sale and use, based on categories of fireworks and
the specific time periods when and the areas where these may be sold and used.
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