Sivakasi fireworks industry upbeat as SC conditionally permits joined green crackers

1. At a Glance

• The Supreme Court has given a conditional order letting Sivakasi fireworks makers produce next-generation joined green crackers (chorsa, the string/"garland" crackers) [1].
• The basic condition is that joined crackers must be made only from green crackers [1].
• The industry's legal fight in the SC had run since 2018 [1].
• UPSC relevance: it sits where the right to a clean environment (Art. 21) meets livelihoods and the MSME cluster economy. It also shows judicial environmental governance and industrial safety at work.

2. Why in the News

• The SC passed an order conditionally allowing joined green crackers. It was reported on 1 October 2026 (The Hindu, Chennai edition, p. 4) [1].
• Industry bodies called it "a significant milestone for the fireworks industry" [1].
• The full set of conditions was still awaited when the report was published [1].

3. Background & Evolution

• 2018: the industry started litigating in the SC to get the ban on chorsa lifted [1].
• The two main manufacturers' bodies, TANFAMA and TIFMA, impleaded themselves in the case [1].
• During the ban: many manufacturers, big and small, moved to aerial crackers. These need a lot of expertise, and the shift reportedly led to more accidents [1].
• 2026: the SC gave conditional permission for joined crackers made from green crackers only [1].
• Wider context [UNVERIFIED]: the 2018 SC case on firecracker pollution in Delhi-NCR (Arjun Gopal v. Union of India) is linked to green-cracker rules, limits on banned chemicals and a restriction on joined crackers. Green-cracker formulations came from CSIR-NEERI. Confirm the case name, the bench and what exactly it ordered.

4. Core Static Facts

Item	Fact
Product in question	Chorsa (joined crackers), one of the industry's most popular products [1]
Share of production	Joined crackers make up 20% of total fireworks production [1]
Hub	Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu [1]
Key condition	Joined crackers must be made using only green crackers [1]
Litigating bodies	TANFAMA (Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers' Association) and TIFMA (The Indian Fireworks Manufacturers' Association) [1]
People quoted	P. Ganesan (TANFAMA office-bearer); T. Kannan (TIFMA general secretary) [1]
Litigation span	2018 to 2026 [1]
Regulator / law [UNVERIFIED]	PESO (under DPIIT); Explosives Act, 1884; Explosives Rules, 2008

5. Multi-Dimensional Analysis

Economic

• Joined crackers are 20% of output, so lifting the ban reopens a large product segment [1].
• TIFMA says the order will have a "significant impact on the future of the industry" [1].

Legal / Constitutional

• The SC's conditional relief is a middle path: it allows the product but ties it to green crackers only [1].
• Industry bodies used impleadment, i.e. joining an existing case as a party, rather than filing a fresh suit [1].
• [UNVERIFIED] This fits the pattern of reading Art. 21 to cover a pollution-free environment alongside Art. 19(1)(g), the right to carry on a trade.

Safety / Labour

• The ban pushed firms into aerial crackers, which need expertise, and accidents rose [1].
• Being able to make chorsa again may lower risk because firms can go back to products they know [1].

Environmental

• Requiring green crackers only keeps the order in line with the courts' pollution-control approach [1].
• The details of the conditions, such as formulations and testing, were still awaited [1].

Administrative

• How well the order works depends on regulators certifying and checking green-cracker compliance. The conditions had not been released yet [1].

6. Recent Developments (last 12–18 months)

• Around 30 Sep / 1 Oct 2026: SC order conditionally allowing joined green crackers [1].
• At the time of the report: detailed conditions still pending; the industry is waiting for them before production restarts [1].

7. Prelims Hooks

• Chorsa means joined crackers, and the SC has now allowed them only if they are made from green crackers [1].
• Joined crackers are about 20% of India's fireworks production (TIFMA estimate) [1].
• The chorsa litigation in the SC ran from 2018 [1].
• TANFAMA stands for Tamil Nadu Fireworks and Amorces Manufacturers' Association [1].
• TIFMA stands for The Indian Fireworks Manufacturers' Association [1].
• Both bodies impleaded themselves in the SC case [1].
• The main fireworks cluster is Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu [1].
• The ban shifted production toward aerial crackers, with more accidents reported [1].
• [UNVERIFIED — check] Green-cracker formulations: CSIR-NEERI. Licensing body: PESO, under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, not MoEFCC.

8. Why the Same Court Said No in 2023

• The Supreme Court turned down this same request three years ago
• An application to make joined crackers (IA No. 48692 of 2022) was filed in Arjun Gopal v. Union of India, the firecracker pollution case (W.P.(C) No. 728 of 2015) [2].
• On 22 September 2023, a bench of Justices A.S. Bopanna and M.M. Sundresh rejected it "at this stage" [2].

• So the 2026 order reverses an earlier refusal. It is not a first-time decision.

• The main reason was barium, not the product itself

• Barium nitrate is an oxidiser. An oxidiser supplies the oxygen that makes a cracker burn and gives it colour.
• Manufacturers argued that the CSIR-NEERI formula with barium cut particulate matter (PM, tiny dust particles that enter the lungs) by up to 30% [2].
• The Court said allowing barium only because the formula was 30% cleaner "would in fact be a retrograde step", meaning a step backwards [2].

• It said the same reasoning applied to the joined-cracker request [2].

• What the 2026 order must answer

• The "green crackers only" condition [1] is the Court's way of keeping its no-barium line while still allowing the product.
• So whether chorsa really returns depends on one question: can a string of crackers be made to work without barium? The full conditions had not been released when the report came out [1].

9. "Green" Means Cleaner, Not Clean

• A green cracker still gives off most of its smoke
• The green-cracker standard aims for a 25–30% cut in PM2.5 (the finest dust, 2.5 micrometres or smaller) compared with a normal cracker [2].
• That means about 70% of the pollution is still released.

• In 2023 the Court itself asked whether the particles that remain "would continue to be a health hazard", especially where the air is already polluted [2].

• Joined crackers multiply this leftover pollution

• One chorsa is a string of many crackers set off together. A 30% cut on each cracker still adds up to a large burst of smoke in one place.

• The Court has pointed to a doctor's affidavit, cited in its 23.10.2018 order. It described more patients in the festival season because of toxic gases, particles and metal compounds in the air [2].

• The government's own promise of cleaner formulas has not yet been kept

• In 2020 the Centre said a technical committee would review formulas every six months. The committee has PESO/DPIIT, CPCB, CSIR-NEERI and safety experts on it [2].
• Its goal was to cut emissions by 50–70% [2].
• In 2023 the Court said "further efforts are necessary" instead of settling for 30% [2]. Any chorsa permission rests on this unfinished research.

10. Does the Ban Really Explain Sivakasi's Accidents?

• The industry's argument, at its strongest
• The chorsa ban pushed firms into aerial crackers, which need skills they did not have, and accidents rose [1].

• If that is true, the ban hurt the very workers it did not mean to affect. Lifting it would then be a safety measure as well as an economic one.

• What is fair in this argument

• Forcing a quick switch to a product firms do not know well is a real risk in explosives work.

• A court looking at air quality in Delhi-NCR was not looking at factory-floor safety in Virudhunagar.

• What the accident record actually shows

• Since 2022, at least 134 workers have died in explosions in fireworks and match units in the district, across 89 accidents recorded up to mid-2025 [3].
• Investigations keep finding the same causes: too many explosives stored, unapproved tools, mixing and drying chemicals close together, untrained workers, and several work stages done in one room [3].

• None of these causes is about which product is being made. They are about how the factory is run.

• Licensed units are where most deaths happen

• 78 of the 89 accidents, with 123 deaths, happened in units licensed by PESO (Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation, the central licensing body) [3].

• In April 2026, a blast near Sivakasi killed 25 people, mostly women. The unit had a valid licence, but it had reportedly been sublet, had more workers than allowed and ran beyond permitted hours [3].

• The honest conclusion

• Bringing chorsa back may reduce one risk: unfamiliar aerial work.
• But without enforcement on storage, subletting and training, the death toll is unlikely to fall much.

11. Who Will Check That a Chorsa Is Really Green?

• The ban was already being broken
• The amicus curiae (a senior lawyer who advises the court) told the Court about a CBI enquiry. It found barium being stocked "despite being banned", along with other violations [2].

• The Court put these matters off for later hearing [2]. A rule that was ignored before will not enforce itself now.

• Nobody can tell a green chorsa from an ordinary one just by looking at it

• The difference is in the chemical formula inside, not in the look or the sound.
• As early as 2019, PESO–NEERI meeting minutes said many "unregulated and distributed manufacturers" skip quality checks, which means more pollution [2].

• Enforcement at units is on-and-off. Units shut down after an accident simply move production elsewhere and start again [3].

• What should follow, and who should do it

• PESO and CSIR-NEERI: put a QR code or barcode on every green product. The 2019 minutes placed before the Supreme Court already proposed this, to stop fakes [2]. A chorsa packet should carry a code that a buyer or inspector can check.
• CSIR-NEERI: test raw materials, not only the finished cracker. The same minutes proposed a NEERI-led system to test raw materials for all makers, and a testing facility at Sivakasi [2].
• The PESO/DPIIT-led technical committee: publish its six-monthly reviews. It promised these in 2020 [2]. Public results would show whether the 50–70% goal is getting closer.
• PESO and Tamil Nadu authorities: go after subletting and overcrowding. These factors were behind the April 2026 disaster at a licensed unit [3]. Licence conditions mean little if a unit can be quietly sublet.

12. Anchors for Answers

• Data: Green crackers cut PM2.5 by only about 25–30% compared with normal crackers; the government's stated goal is 50–70% [2]
• Data: Joined crackers are about 20% of fireworks output [1]; around 50% of total fireworks can be made without barium salts (Centre's affidavit, 30.10.2018) [2]
• Data: At least 134 workers dead in Virudhunagar fireworks and match unit explosions since 2022; 78 of 89 accidents were in PESO-licensed units [3]
• Report/Committee: PESO–CSIR-NEERI Minutes of Meeting, 27.02.2019 (proposed QR codes and NEERI-led raw-material testing); technical committee of PESO/DPIIT, CPCB and CSIR-NEERI for six-monthly formula review (2020 affidavit) [2]
• Law/Case: Arjun Gopal v. Union of India, W.P.(C) 728 of 2015 — orders of 12.09.2017, 23.10.2018 and 29.10.2021; order of 22.09.2023 rejecting barium and joined crackers [2]

13. Mains Relevance

• GS-III: Environmental pollution and degradation; industrial safety and disaster management; MSMEs and employment.
• GS-II: The judiciary's role in policymaking (judicial activism vs. restraint).
• GS-IV: Balancing livelihoods against public health.
• Sample questions: 1. "The Supreme Court's conditional approval of joined green crackers balances Article 21 against livelihoods." Critically examine. 2. Poorly calibrated bans can create new safety risks. Discuss this with reference to the Sivakasi fireworks cluster. 3. Assess how far green crackers can reconcile festive traditions with air-quality goals.

14. Related Topics to Study Next

• Green crackers (CSIR-NEERI: SWAS, SAFAL, STAR) [UNVERIFIED]: the technology the SC's condition depends on.
• Explosives Act, 1884 and PESO: the licensing and safety rules for fireworks.
• National Clean Air Programme (NCAP): the policy aimed at the air-pollution concerns behind cracker curbs.
• Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP) / CAQM: how Delhi-NCR handles bans on crackers.
• Art. 21 environmental cases (MC Mehta line): how courts expanded the right to a clean environment.
• Industrial accidents in Sivakasi: the safety and labour side of the sector.
• Cluster development and MSMEs (SFURTI and similar): support for livelihoods in traditional industries.

15. Common Errors / Trap Areas

• Chorsa ≠ aerial crackers. Chorsa are joined crackers. Aerial crackers are what firms moved to during the ban [1].
• Not unconditional. The order is conditional, green crackers only, and the full terms were still pending [1].
• Litigation start is 2018, not 2026. 2026 is when the order came [1].
• Ministry trap [UNVERIFIED]: fireworks licensing is under PESO/DPIIT, not MoEFCC. Pollution standards are separate, set through CPCB/MoEFCC.
• Don't mix up TANFAMA (a Tamil Nadu body) with TIFMA (a national body) [1].