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Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa today urged the Centre to immediately withdraw higher explosive storage fees and also to crack down on smuggling of Chinese fireworks.
The letter comes in support of the fireworks industry at Sivaganga, which accounts for almost 80 per cent of country's total production. The industry is on indefinite strike against the Centre's decision to increase the fee and for not taking any steps to ban imports of Chinese crackers. "The industry is gravely affected due to the lack of effective action by the Government of India to prevent the smuggling of Chinese fireworks into India, which are more unsafe due to use of a cheaper raw material, chlorate, which is banned in India. Not only does this affect domestic employment, but it also raises serious safety issues and environmental hazards," said Jayalalithaa.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had written to all state governments on October 17, 2013, highlighting the danger of smuggled Chinese fireworks containing potassium chlorate and the need to deal strictly with persons found in possession of such fireworks.
However, the inclusion of fees for licensing import of Class 7 explosives, essentially fireworks, has raised fears that the Petroleum and Explosive Safety Organisation, which has so far not granted any import licence, will, in fact, facilitate easier imports of fireworks. In their representations, the fireworks industry has pointed out that a new post has been created in the PESO’s Nagpur office to process applications for import and export of explosives and fireworks.
The Department of Industrial Promotion and Policy in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry issued a “User Fee Notice (Explosives)” on March 20, 2014, in which the effective rates were steeply raised. In certain cases, the increase is very high. The explosives storage licence fee has been increased from a flat Rs 15,000 a year to Rs 4 lakh a year for storage of 2 lakh kg of fireworks, an increase of 27 times. The fee for renewal of the foreman (competency) licence has increased from Rs 100 to Rs 3,000.
The fireworks industry has also demanded a separate set of rules to govern fireworks as distinct from explosives, because the Explosives Rules are meant to govern high explosives and are too stringent for fireworks.
"This issue requires to be urgently and sensitively dealt with. I am very surprised that the Government of India went ahead with issuing such a sensitive policy order after the date for the announcement of the Parliamentary elections. Not only is this an act bereft of any understanding of the etiquette of parliamentary democracy, it also constitutes a violation of the Model Code of Conduct,” said Jayalalithaa.
The letter comes in support of the fireworks industry at Sivaganga, which accounts for almost 80 per cent of country's total production. The industry is on indefinite strike against the Centre's decision to increase the fee and for not taking any steps to ban imports of Chinese crackers. "The industry is gravely affected due to the lack of effective action by the Government of India to prevent the smuggling of Chinese fireworks into India, which are more unsafe due to use of a cheaper raw material, chlorate, which is banned in India. Not only does this affect domestic employment, but it also raises serious safety issues and environmental hazards," said Jayalalithaa.
The Ministry of Home Affairs had written to all state governments on October 17, 2013, highlighting the danger of smuggled Chinese fireworks containing potassium chlorate and the need to deal strictly with persons found in possession of such fireworks.
However, the inclusion of fees for licensing import of Class 7 explosives, essentially fireworks, has raised fears that the Petroleum and Explosive Safety Organisation, which has so far not granted any import licence, will, in fact, facilitate easier imports of fireworks. In their representations, the fireworks industry has pointed out that a new post has been created in the PESO’s Nagpur office to process applications for import and export of explosives and fireworks.
The Department of Industrial Promotion and Policy in the Ministry of Commerce and Industry issued a “User Fee Notice (Explosives)” on March 20, 2014, in which the effective rates were steeply raised. In certain cases, the increase is very high. The explosives storage licence fee has been increased from a flat Rs 15,000 a year to Rs 4 lakh a year for storage of 2 lakh kg of fireworks, an increase of 27 times. The fee for renewal of the foreman (competency) licence has increased from Rs 100 to Rs 3,000.
The fireworks industry has also demanded a separate set of rules to govern fireworks as distinct from explosives, because the Explosives Rules are meant to govern high explosives and are too stringent for fireworks.
"This issue requires to be urgently and sensitively dealt with. I am very surprised that the Government of India went ahead with issuing such a sensitive policy order after the date for the announcement of the Parliamentary elections. Not only is this an act bereft of any understanding of the etiquette of parliamentary democracy, it also constitutes a violation of the Model Code of Conduct,” said Jayalalithaa.
