Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to exempt the fireworks manufacturing industry in the state from environment protection rules to save the livelihood of eight lakh families.
850 fireworks manufacturing units are functioning in Tamil Nadu, mostly in Virudhunagar district, which contribute to 90 per cent of the fireworks produced in the country.
"I urge you to direct the Ministry of Environment to carry out necessary amendment to Environment (Protection) Rules, 1986," he said in a letter to Modi yesterday.
Since use of fireworks is attached to our socio-cultural traditions, any ban on production, sale and its use would adversely affect sentiments of the people of India, he said.
Firecracker units provide employment to "more than eight lakh people mostly women, directly or indirectly," he said, adding a ban would push them further into poverty.
The manufacturers observe very high safety standards, he said, adding the industry was, however, facing a major setback due to Public Interest Litigations in the Supreme Court to ban the manufacture, sale and use of fireworks.
"This has created fear and uncertainty in the minds of firework manufacturers, leading to disruption of production as they are unsure about the outcome of the pending PILs."
The firecracker manufacturers have suffered severe financial losses and there has also been loss of employment due to the ban on sale of fireworks in Delhi NCR region during the last Deepavali season, he said.
Though the ban was subsequently lifted by the Supreme Court, some more PILs were filed and these have been admitted, he noted.
With improvements in chemical technology, better quality fireworks which lead to lesser pollution are constantly being evolved. Almost all reported scientific data has revealed reversal of pollution level within 24 hours of being used.
The chief minister also said manufacturers in Tamil Nadu use nitrate salts for production, which is much less polluting than chloride salts.
These manufacturers use safe and environment friendly products and there are no recorded long-term effects on the environment, he added.
Fireworks units in and around Sivakasi in Virudhunagar district had remained indefinitely closed since December 26 over their demands including early hearing of a case in the apex court.
The striking workers have urged the central government to make a small amendment in the Environment Protection Act, just as they did to allow jallikattu (bull-taming).
The top court had, on October 9 last year, said no firecrackers would be sold in Delhi-NCR during Diwali that year while banning its sale till November 1.
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