Ammonium nitrate: Rules gather dust

The fact is it has taken over three years for this follow-up action. It was after the use of ammonium nitrate in successive blasts in Varanasi,Mumbai,Malegaon and Hyderabad that the first serious steps towards regulation were taken. In December 2007,a committee under the Home Secretary was set up to examine the systems of manufacture,supply and pilferage of explosive substances,including ammonium nitrate which has a high volume of legitimate use in the industrial and agricultural sectors.

In December 2008,a notification was issued to include ammonium nitrate as a “special category explosive substance” in the 1908 Explosive Substances Act. A year later,this was backed with drafting of ammonium nitrate rules.

However,while the amendments in the Explosive Substances Act only provide preventive and punitive measures for possession and misuse of ammonium nitrate,the more crucial amendments in the 1884 Act for regulation of the substance are still awaited. Along with the amendments,the draft rules — prepared by the Director,DIPP,in 2009 — have also not been finalised. Said a DIPP official: “That’s work in progress. The problem is that several departments and Ministries are involved in the process and that is why it has taken so long.”

Gujarat to send ATS team to Mumbai

The Gujarat Police will send teams of Anti-Terrorism Squad and Crime Branch to Mumbai to inspect the blast sites. DGP Chitranajan Singh said: “The teams will study the blasts. We suspect that those involved in the Ahmedabad serial blasts may have a role in the Mumbai blasts too.”