A former chief law officer of the state pollution control board and the state environment department has written to the state’s chief secretary and the Union government alleging that the state machinery had failed to implement the fireworks-related order of the Supreme Court.
On Friday, Metro reported on a survey that found illegal fireworks, including the barium-based ones that have been banned by the Supreme Court, being sold at the Bazi Bazar on the Maidan.
This newspaper joined a team of green activists that found during a random survey of stalls at the Bazi Bazar that rules related to the sale of firecrackers were being brazenly violated.
“I am inviting your attention to the news reporting of ‘The Telegraph’ newspaper dated 10/11/2023… after necessary scrutiny of the situation it is observed that directions of the hon’ble Supreme Court are not complied with and there is no proper supervision of the statutory authorities to monitor the fireworks markets and its sources,” reads the letter by Biswajit Mukherjee, former chief law officer of the pollution control board (PCB) and the environment department.
It has also been addressed to senior police officers, the PCB and the head
of the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), which functions under the Union government.
The letter said: “Police authority and West Bengal Pollution Control Board have not taken adequate steps to prevent the manufacturing, storing and selling of the banned fireworks in the state of West Bengal, as a result banned fireworks have been manufactured and are available in the open market.”
The letter seeks immediate action.
Several green activists, too, have demanded an inquiry.
“We demand a CBI inquiry. The Supreme Court had earlier directed a CBI probe into the violation of the ban on the use of barium in green crackers,” said Naba Dutta of Sabuj Mancha, a green platform.
The regulatory bodies sought to deflect the responsibility to each other.
“We have informed the police. Even today we spoke to the police. Our people are also monitoring (the sale of firecrackers) but we have limited manpower,” said a senior PCB official.
Another PCB official said: “PESO should monitor”.
“The onus is on the district administration who have cleared all these retail sellers... we have only two officials. How can we monitor so many retailers?” said a PESO official.
