Green fireworks sold in India may lack the NEERI QR codes intended to verify their authenticity this Diwali after the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute decided not to issue the codes to manufacturers this year, according to meeting minutes reviewed by The Telegraph.
The issue emerged at a coordination meeting held in Calcutta on October 28 and attended by 83 stakeholders, including NEERI, the West Bengal Pollution Control Board, police officials and representatives of the fireworks industry. The minutes record NEERI chief scientist Deepanjan Majumdar as saying: “No more QR code shall be used to verify green firecrackers.”
A senior NEERI official told the Bengal government that the agency was facing technical issues and that no manufacturer would receive QR codes this year, although no further details about the problem were provided. NEERI has nevertheless certified 1,700 manufacturers across the country as producers of green fireworks, including 251 in Bengal, Majumdar said at the meeting.
The QR-code system was introduced after Supreme Court directions on green fireworks. Since 2023, the court has directed that such products carry NEERI QR codes to help establish that they meet the required standards. The codes were intended to provide product-specific information and distinguish certified fireworks from products that may be falsely marketed as environmentally safer.
In an order issued on October 29, the Supreme Court said each green-firework box should contain a QR code and that only firecrackers carrying product-specific QR codes should be sold. The order said scanning the code should reveal the manufacturer’s name, NEERI registration, Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation or district magistrate licence, formulation and test certificate.
The reported withdrawal of the codes has raised concerns among environmental activists and legal experts because the verification mechanism is linked to both product authenticity and enforcement. Biswajit Mukherjee, a retired chief law officer of the West Bengal Pollution Control Board, said NEERI’s position was “grossly illegal” and that he would approach the court seeking contempt action.
Dulal Bose, an ENT physician, noise expert and former sheriff of Calcutta, said he had written to the state environment minister and believed the absence of QR codes could increase violations. Environment analyst Sudipta Bhattacharya noted that violations had occurred even when QR codes were being issued and said the risk could rise without them.
Naba Dutta, secretary of the green platform Sabuj Mancha, said the Calcutta High Court had also repeatedly held that QR codes were mandatory for green fireworks, but alleged that the requirement was not being implemented on the ground. The immediate regulatory position remains contested: the Supreme Court order requires the codes, while NEERI’s reported technical decision means manufacturers are not receiving them this year.
