Amid severe air pollution, RSS affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch objects to firecracker ban, cites SC order

The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch has asked all the state governments to avoid a complete ban on firecrackers this Diwali and termed the ill-effects of firecrackers as "false propaganda". It also cited a Supreme Court order of 2018 to make its case against the blanket ban.

"For some time, without any actual information, governments have been taking action like banning all types of firecrackers on the occasion of Diwali, which is completely inappropriate.

"It has to be understood that till now the pollution caused by firecrackers was primarily due to illegally imported firecrackers from China. The pollution has been due to the mixing of potassium nitrate and sulphur in the Chinese firecrackers. However, in green (pollution-free) firecrackers made in India today potassium nitrate and sulphur are not mixed; and other pollutants such as aluminium, lithium, arsenic and mercury etc., have been reduced to the minimum," the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) said in its statement.

It added that these firecrackers were certified by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, NEERI, and caused 30 per cent less pollution.

Since the government has imposed an effective ban on Chinese firecrackers, imposing a blanket ban on all types of firecrackers this Diwali was dubbed as "completely unfair" by the SJM.

SJM National Co-convenor Ashwani Mahajan said, "We should not forget that in Tamil Nadu (Sivakasi), West Bengal and many other parts of the country, livelihoods of nearly one million people depends on the firecracker industry."

The RSS affiliate urged the Central government to inform the National Green Tribunal about the real pollution effects of the green firecrackers. It said that it was a "matter of regret" that the government agencies have failed to solve the problem of stubble burning in various parts of the country, including Punjab, Haryana and Delhi, due to which pollution in the capital and surrounding areas is continuously increasing and has crossed the danger mark.

It also urged all the state governments to make efforts to find a "permanent solution" to the problem of stubble burning.

The Swadeshi Jagran Manch also cited a Supreme Court order of October 2018 where it gave permission for setting off firecrackers for two hours on Diwali.

"Swadeshi Jagran Manch pleads to the governments of Delhi, Rajasthan, Orissa (Odisha), West Bengal, Karnataka and all other state governments, which have imposed a complete ban on firecrackers, to repeal the same, in view of the spirit of the Honourable Supreme Court order, minimal pollution by green firecrackers and the livelihood of millions of people," the SJM said.