Every year, as Diwali approaches, the debate over firecrackers resurfaces. Restrictions are announced, courts intervene, and conscientious citizens urge people to celebrate without adding to pollution. The arguments can quickly turn acrimonious, with those calling for restraint often accused of opposing religious traditions. Yet, even as the debate rages, fireworks continue to be manufactured and sold.
Another side to this debate often gets lost in the annual arguments over pollution and restrictions. It lies in Sivakasi, Tamil Nadu, where the fireworks industry has sustained generations of workers and an extensive network of businesses. The town accounts for about 85 per cent of India’s organised fireworks trade. For the people who depend on it, restrictions are not merely an environmental or regulatory issue or about celebration and air pollution; they are a question of the livelihoods of lakhs of people.
The industry supports manufacturers, workers, raw-material suppliers, transporters, and a range of allied businesses. For many families, it is a source of income passed down through generations. Any move to restrict production must reckon with this dependence. Yet the people behind the industry, their working conditions, and their future rarely feature prominently in the debate. For Sivakasi, the question is not simply whether the fireworks industry should continue in its present form, but whether India can reduce its environmental and health costs without making those who depend on it pay the economic price.
The Green Sheen
However, the latest round of restrictions has brought green crackers back into focus. The Supreme Court’s temporary relaxation of the ban on certified green crackers has reopened a familiar question: can a less-polluting alternative offer a workable compromise between the right to celebrate and the right to breathe clean air?
Developed by the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research's National Environmental Engineering Research Institute (CSIR-NEERI), green crackers are designed to reduce emissions compared with conventional fireworks. The institute has developed three categories: SWAS (Safe Water Releaser), STAR (Safe Thermite Cracker) and SAFAL (Safe Minimal Aluminium). According to the NEERI team, these formulations can emit 30 per cent less particulate matter or, alternatively, 20 per cent less particulate matter and 10 per cent fewer gases than conventional crackers in the same category.
The formulations involve changes in fuel and oxidiser proportions, additives to suppress dust and reduced quantities of certain metals. Their packaging carries the CSIR-NEERI logo and a QR code that lets buyers verify certification.
But does ‘green’ mean pollution-free? “Green crackers are a less-polluting version of the same activity. They may reduce emissions, but at the end of the day, they still involve burning. They are more of a via media between environmental concerns and festive traditions. They cannot be considered safe, only less harmful,” says Prof. Gufran Beig, Sir Ashutosh Mukherjee Chair Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, IISc Campus, Bengaluru, and Founder Project Director, SAFAR-India.
That distinction is important. A reduction in emissions from an individual cracker does not necessarily translate into cleaner air when thousands are burst together, particularly in cities such as Delhi, where winter pollution is already a serious concern, and elsewhere where rising AQI levels are worrisome.
The health burden
Firecrackers release particulate matter, heavy metal salts and gases such as sulphur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide and carbon monoxide. Exposure can irritate the respiratory system, with effects varying by pollutant concentration and exposure duration.
Dr Abhijit Ahuja, pulmonologist at Saifee Hospital, Mumbai, explains that larger particles can irritate the nose, throat and upper airways, causing dryness, coughing and itchy eyes. Fine particles such as PM2.5 can travel deeper into the lungs, reaching the bronchioles and alveoli. Some ultrafine particles may cross into the bloodstream, contributing to inflammation beyond the respiratory system.
“People with asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and interstitial lung disease are particularly vulnerable. Exposure can trigger bronchospasm, narrowing the airways and making breathing difficult. Patients may experience wheezing, chest tightness and falling oxygen levels, sometimes requiring medication or emergency hospital care,” says the pulmonologist.
Even people without pre-existing respiratory conditions may experience coughing, throat irritation, chest discomfort and breathlessness. Dr Ahuja also flags the possibility of damage to the lungs’ natural clearance mechanisms, which help remove mucus and inhaled particles.
“Green crackers,” he says, “are safer than conventional ones, but they do not make the air pollution-free. Overall exposure depends on the number of crackers used and the conditions under which they are burst. Even lower-emission products can add to an already polluted airshed when used in large numbers.”
The reduced emissions, therefore, do not eliminate the health risks, particularly for people with sensitive airways. Dr Ahuja cautions that repeated exposure to high levels of air pollution may contribute to declining lung function and increase the risk of chronic respiratory and cardiovascular problems.
Beig cautions against making a direct comparison between green crackers and all conventional fireworks, since emissions vary according to the type of cracker. Weather conditions, too, influence how pollutants disperse and accumulate; they do not generate the pollution themselves. “The impact on air quality also depends on the number of crackers used and how extensively they are used. Using fewer crackers and choosing less-polluting ones can offer a ‘double benefit’,” he adds.
Nitin Kaushal, Managing Director of SFK Group of Companies, also acknowledges that fireworks add to the pollution burden during Diwali, but cautions against treating them as the only source of Delhi-NCR's poor air quality. “Vehicle and industrial emissions, construction dust and, at this time of the year, stubble burning in neighbouring states also add to the pollution load. The overall impact depends on weather conditions, wind speed and temperature,” he says.
While green crackers are designed to emit less pollution than conventional fireworks, Kaushal believes their cumulative impact should not be underestimated. “Although each firework emits less pollution, in bulk amounts, they still play a significant role in worsening the state of the environment, especially considering Delhi-NCR, which experiences a higher level of pollution during winter,” he argues.
The point is not that firecrackers are the sole cause of Delhi’s pollution. Their contribution cannot be dismissed simply because other sources operate year-round.
The question of accountability
The recurring restrictions on firecrackers raise a question beyond the merits of green crackers: how effective are bans if enforcement remains inconsistent?
Lawyer Kunal Yadav sees the Supreme Court’s latest decision as an important step towards evidence-based environmental regulation. Restrictions, he argues, cannot be treated as an end in themselves. Authorities must establish, through scientific evidence, whether a complete ban is more effective than the regulated use of green crackers.
“As a lawyer and a youth of this country, I feel that there should be workable measures, rather than restrictive laws coming every festive season. While it cannot take away from our constitutional rights to celebrate, we must remember that it does not deprive anyone of the same right to breathe clean air (fundamental right to life Article 21),” he says.
The question of enforcement is equally important. Who is accountable if conventional crackers are sold as green crackers, or if manufacturers and sellers flout the rules?
“Accountability should not be limited to the producers and vendors only,” Yadav says. He calls for strict action against those who deliberately market conventional crackers as green ones, including confiscation, licence cancellation, and prosecution under the law. The police, district administrations and regulatory authorities, he argues, must also be held accountable for failing to implement Supreme Court orders.
For Yadav, however, the problem extends well beyond Diwali. Vehicle emissions, industrial pollution and construction dust continue to affect Delhi-NCR throughout the year. Festival-specific restrictions cannot substitute for a sustained approach to air pollution. “I do not wish for my generation to inherit an environment where breathing fresh air would be considered a privilege,” says the lawyer.
Environmental protection, he adds, must also account for manufacturers, traders and workers whose livelihoods depend on the fireworks industry. “We require a national-level policy, scientific regulations and administrative accountability. Environmental protection should not remain a season-specific political and administrative concern, but must be made a constitutional and governance concern,” suggests Yadav.
An industry at a crossroads
But the health concerns do not end with those who breathe firecracker smoke during Diwali. Workers in fireworks factories handle chemical compounds and raw materials throughout the year, often facing occupational hazards.
Dr Ahuja points to the risks associated with exposure to oxidisers, charcoal, sulphur and metal-based colourants. Potential health concerns include chronic respiratory problems, skin conditions, chemical injuries and heavy-metal exposure.
The industry’s history of child-labour controversies also underscores the need for stronger monitoring of working conditions and enforcement of labour protections. However, the current scale of any violations needs to be established through evidence.
The economic stakes are particularly high in Sivakasi, which accounts for about 85 per cent of India's organised fireworks trade. An October 2026 report by The New Indian Express, citing a Tamil Nadu Industrial Development Corporation tender document, estimates the industry's annual turnover at about ₹7,000 crore. The cluster has more than 1,070 licensed manufacturing units and directly employs approximately three lakh people, supporting nearly five lakh families.
The industry also sustains a network of raw-material suppliers, packaging businesses, printing presses, transporters, wholesalers and retailers. With demand peaking around Diwali, the business is highly seasonal. Any substantial restriction on production, therefore, has consequences well beyond the factory floor.
The question is whether Sivakasi can move towards a less hazardous and more sustainable industrial future without leaving its workforce behind. A just transition would require more than replacing conventional crackers with green ones. It would mean examining whether the industry can diversify, whether workers can be reskilled, and whether alternative employment can offer comparable incomes.
As Yadav argues, “Workers’ and businesses’ interests must be part of the regulatory conversation. Environmental protection cannot be pursued in isolation from the livelihoods tied to the industry.”
The debate over firecrackers is often reduced to a choice between celebrating and breathing clean air. For Sivakasi, the stakes are more complicated. The challenge is to reduce the environmental and health costs of the fireworks industry without making the people who depend on it pay the economic price.
A ban may restrict firecracker use. A just transition would have to address the lives built around making them.
