Red Fort blast puts spotlight back on ammonium nitrate regulation

The blast at the Red Fort serves as a stark reminder of the long-standing issues surrounding the regulation of ammonium nitrate, a potent ingredient in many terror attacks since the early 2000s. Despite regulatory measures implemented in 2012, a recent major bust has sparked renewed discussions about the effectiveness of current policies.

New Delhi: The use of ammonium nitrate in the Red Fort blast has once again brought the spotlight back on regulation on sale of the fertiliser. The use of ammonium nitrate has been predominant in every terror attack since early 2000 till 2012, and now. Whether it was Indian Mujahideen (IM) or the Malegaon blast or attacks on security convoys in Srinagar, the IEDs were assembled using ammonium nitrate, fuel oil and detonators. Left Wing Extremist (LWE) theatres have also seen a very high use of ammonium nitrate IEDs.

The government had, in 2012, brought a regulation on the sale of ammonium nitrate. However, the recent seizure of 360 kg of the compound during the failed Faridabad terror plot has flummoxed authorities. It is high time that these rules are relooked, and the government's strategy recalibrated, an official said. ET looked at some of these provisions which came in 2012 and were put in place after home-grown IM's multiple attacks across cities in Delhi, Surat, Jaipur, Patna, Ahmedabad among others.

Ammonium nitrate or a combination of it has been classified as a special category explosive substance under The Explosive Substance Act, 1908. The first attempt to bring a regulation was mooted by the ministry of home affairs in 2008 after the Mumbai 26/11 attacks. However, the draft rules were pulled down after several objections from stakeholders, and the rules could not pass legal hurdles, said officials.With every bomb blast and Naxal attack being carried out using Ammonium Nitrate Fuel (ANFO), the MHA has continued pushing for its regulation and finally in 2012, the rules were notified. Till recently, there were five ammonium nitrate manufacturers in the country including one each in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Punjab and two in Maharashtra.

As per the provision in the 2012 rules for legitimate use of ammonium nitrate for agricultural activities, the district magistrate is also authorised to grant licence to possess from a storehouse. The license holder is required to maintain the accounts and receipts. He is required to submit a monthly account of the ammonium nitrate received, used, destroyed, stolen every month.

In the past, terror groups have used RDX as well as the commonly available ammonium nitrate with a combination of a booster such as PETN to carry out explosions.

However, to distance itself from attacks carried out from foreign soils, the use of easily available ammonium nitrate was preferred by IM.
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Source: EconomicTimes
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