Five industrial accidents since May this year alone has forced the hand of Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy to propose a new industrial safety policy. Under the proposed policy, a compliance report should be filed by industries twice a year in addition to third party inspection.
Furthermore, the industries will also have to compensate by paying an ex gratia of Rs 50 lakh for any death in the industrial sector. Plans to roll out a new industrial safety policy were undertaken as part of a review meeting held at the Chief Ministers Camp Office at Amaravati on Tuesday. The new measures to be taken will include provisions on safety, prevention of accidents and pollution control in industries.
A special drive is also being conducted to inspect the safety measures being followed by the industries. The drive will be completed in the coming two to three months.
The push for a new industrial safety policy comes at a time when Andhra Pradesh has witnessed a spate of industrial accidents since May this year.
On August 1, a heavy-duty crane at the Hindustan Shipyard Limited in Visakhapatnam collapsed killing 11 persons. The crane was being commissioned at the time of the accident.
On July 14, one person died and another was injured when a fire broke out at Visakha Solvents at Jawaharlal Nehru Pharma City (JNPC) of Visakhapatnam.
On June 29, two persons were killed and four others injured after inhaling Hydrogen Sulphide gas at Sainor Life Sciences unit at JNPC. The gas was being pumped into one of the reactors at the plant when it leaked.
On June 28, one person died and three others were injured at SPY Agro Industries in Nandyal of Kurnool district due to an ammonia gas leak.
On May 7, as many as 12 persons were killed and over 580 hospitalised when styrene gas monomer vapour from LG Polymers leaked. An expert panel appointed by the state government found the firm guilty of several lapses.
The existing Safety Regulations of Industries is expected to come under the purview of the proposed industrial safety policy.
The state has also decided to bring out an industrial atlas showing the location of industries and industrial parks in the state along with their categorisation. The atlas will be like a guide and reckoner for those who want to start an industry in the state, read a press statement from the Chief Minister’s Office.
The Chief Minister said at the meeting that the compliance report should be submitted by the industries twice in a year, he also added that the companies should display the details on the steps taken beside a third party inspection.
There should be monitoring on industrial parks as well to see if the rules are being followed and the overseeing mechanism should be strong. The Vizag gas leak would have been averted if the inhibitors were in place. The mishap took place as there was no one to supervise. “In foreign countries, there will be a penalty if a compliance report is not submitted but we do not have that system. We should adopt such policies and those responsible for industrial mishaps should be sternly dealt with,” said the Chief Minister at the meeting.