Sivakasi divided over joining hands with NEERI to produce green crackers

The nearly Rs 2000-crore fire cracker industry in Sivakasi is divided over joining hands with the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR)'s National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (NEERI) to produce green crackers. The development comes at a time when around 165 units, of the little over 1,000 units, have already signed non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) to produce green crackers.

NEERI has been researching firecracker emissions after the Supreme Court last year asked the central government on the steps it was taking to reduce particulate matter emissions from firecrackers.

Some manufacturers allege that NEERI is asking the units to sign a