New Delhi: Green crackers with 30 per cent less emissions will now be available in the market, Union Minister Harsh Vardhan announced on Saturday ahead of Diwali, noting that the step will take care of people’s sentiments and address concerns on pollution.
Addressing an event by Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) where the crackers prepared by its labs were displayed, the Science and Technology Minister said they have been introduced to deal with the menace of pollution and would help the fireworks industry which was facing closure after the Supreme Court in 2018 banned conventional firecrackers that have high emission levels and allowed only those that conform to permissible smoke and noise levels.
“I am happy to announce that we have green crackers with reduced emission by minimum 30 per cent. These are environmental friendly. We had appealed to our scientists to come up with an alternative to the polluting fire crackers so that people’s sentiment are taken care of without harming the environment,” the minister said.
The scientists informed that buyers should lookout for a green logo as well as a Quick Response (QR) coding system, which have been developed for differentiation of green crackers from conventional crackers.
About 530 emissions testing certificates have been issued to fireworks manufactures for new and improved formulations meeting the stipulated guidelines of green crackers, the minister said.
Nearly 165 fireworks manufactures have been roped in and around 65 more manufacturers are in the process of coming on board to manufacture green crackers. (PTI)
