Cfcs Smuggling On Despite Checks Inflow Unhindered

Despite curbs on production and consumption of the chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other ozone depleting substances (ODSs), these are arriving in India on a large-scale from across the bordering countries largely because of lax security checks.

The arrivals are generally through the India-Nepal and India-Bangladesh land routes besides the sea routes through Chennai and Mumbai ports. Some seizures have been reported from Jaipur, Cochin and Varanasi also, says an official release.

The ODSs smuggled into India generally comprise chlorofluorocarbons (CFC 12) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFC 22) which are commonly known as Freon or refrigerant 12 and refrigerant 22. These are not only the controlled items under the Montreal Protocol of 1987 to which India is a party, but are also among the items on the negative list of imports and as such their import is palpably illegal.

 

The Indian industry has already curtailed its production and consumption operations since July last year as per the mandate of the Montreal Protocol to keep the respective levels frozen at those of 1995-97. The industry is, therefore, worried that the illegal arrivals and the surplus so generated would bring it a bad name.

The modus operandi of smuggling through the sea route is to bring the material in mislabelled cylinders.