State govt sanctions three green cracker manufacturing clusters

Kolkata: The state government has sanctioned the setting up of three green cracker manufacturing clusters across the state on the basis of West Bengal Green Firecracker Manufacturing, Storage and Selling Scheme (WBGFMSS) with the provision of fiscal incentive of up to 90 per cent of the project cost of the cluster in three installments.

The state is hopeful that these three units will start production within a year. Nabanna sources said the approved clusters will come up at Champahati in South 24-Parganas, Hooghly and Murshidabad.

A Nabanna official said that land was identified at five more places, including one each at North 24-Parganas, South 24-Parganas, East Midnapore, West Midnapore and Siliguri. These are at various stages of approval. A land was identified at Howrah too but it being unsuitable, a search is afoot for alternative land.

In November 2023, the MSME & Textiles department conceptualised WBGFMSS to provide safe and environment friendly eco-system for manufacturing, storage and selling of green firecrackers & sparklers, thereby generating scope of safe and sustainable employment for lakhs of people dependent on firecracker manufacturing industry for livelihood.

The Pradesh Atasbazi Byabsayee Samiti (PABS) which identified an 8.5 acre land at Nandarampur Mouza under Maheshtala Police Station area in South 24-Parganas was asked to widen the road leading to the proposed cluster land to allow vehicle movement. “We have applied for a fire license,” said Sukdev Naskar, PABS general secretary.

The fiscal incentive will entail installment of 20, 30 and 50 per cent on reimbursement basis. The first installment will be released after completion of land filling, boundary wall and internal road (if any). The second, after 80 per cent of the land is allotted, power connection completed and drainage system in place. The final one will be released after all the units become operational on the land.

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in May 2023 formed a committee led by the chief secretary for identifying land parcels in Bengal for such green firecracker clusters. The move followed after blasts in illegal cracker manufacturing units at Egra, East Midnapore and Budge Budge in South 24-Parganas led to14 deaths.

The decision for clusters was made to accommodate poor firecracker makers who do

not have land for manufacturing purposes.