Delhi firecracker sales hit Rs 300 crore this Diwali, up about 30% on last year, says CTI

The Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) has claimed that people in Delhi bought firecrackers worth a total of Rs 300 crore this Diwali. According to CTI, firecracker sales rose by about 30 per cent compared with last year. In its statement, the body also said that rising demand for green crackers, the late permission and low stock threw the entire sales arrangement into disarray.

Delhi's air quality was already poor, so people should have kept away from firecrackers. Even so, firecrackers worth Rs 300 crore were burnt, and this contributed considerably to higher pollution.

CTI president Brijesh Goyal said most traders had run out of firecracker stock a day before Diwali. As a result, many customers had to travel to Gurugram, Noida, Faridabad, Ghaziabad and Sonipat to buy firecrackers. This showed that the supply of firecrackers in Delhi fell short of demand.

The Supreme Court had permitted the sale in Delhi-NCR of only green crackers certified by CSIR-NEERI and carrying a QR code. Sales at licensed shops therefore took place in the name of green crackers. However, CTI said there is no officially audited information on how much of the Rs 300 crore total came from certified green crackers and how much from traditional ones.

Packets marked "green", "eco-friendly" and "pollution-free" were also found in the market, but customers could not be sure whether they were certified. Traders say Delhi has no testing facility of the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), which made it difficult to check the crackers genuinely.

After the Supreme Court's permission, customers showed enthusiasm for buying firecrackers. Many specifically asked for green crackers with a QR code. Traders said they are not experts in chemistry. They buy only crackers of brands registered with NEERI and check the QR code on the packet. They also said it is hard for an ordinary customer to tell green and traditional crackers apart.

According to CTI, about half of the families who burst firecrackers in Delhi-NCR used both green and traditional crackers. The question therefore remains how many certified green crackers were actually sold.

CTI has concluded that the late permission, delays in the licensing process, weak arrangements for checking QR codes and the lack of sufficient stock disrupted this year's sales. The body said that next year permission and licences must be given on time, a clear system for checking QR codes put in place and adequate stock kept. CTI claims that if these steps are taken, sales of 100 per cent certified green crackers are possible next year.