Over the past three years, since 2021, as many as 714 labourers have lost lives in industrial accidents in the state, Cabinet minister for labour, skill development and employment Balvantsinh Rajput informed Gujarat Assembly Wednesday.
Rajput’s statement came after Congress legislator Arjun Modhwadia sought ‘urgent public attention’ over an industrial accident that happened at Onerio Lifecare Private Limited, a pharmaceutical factory, in Padra of Vadodara district on January 31 in which three labourers died and two sustained serious injuries.
Flagging the issue of industrial safety and those of labourers, Modhwadia sought to know if the government plans a safety audit of factories. He also demanded whether action would be taken against the company in connection with the fatal Vadodara accident.
In reply, Rajput said that to check such incidents from happening, the Director (Industrial Safety) of the Gujarat government does inspection of factories and if found necessary, then the factory proprietor is also given a show cause notice. If the proprietor does not follow the instructions, then cases are also registered in courts.
“Under the Factories Act, so far, criminal cases have been registered against 3,901 people for not following safety rules,” Rajput said.
The Gujarat minister added that 244 labourers had died in various accidents in 2021. “In 2021, there were 45,920 registered factories (in Gujarat)… In 2022, the number of factories increased to 47,762 and the number of deaths due to accidents was 238. Now (in 2023), the factories have increased to 49,246 and 232 deaths have been reported. But the government is concerned to ensure that these 232, too, do not die (in accidents) and how we can bring this down to zero,” he stated.
Rajput also defended his government by stating that the ratio of industrial accidents in Gujarat has come down in comparison to previous years.
Meanwhile, the same time, Modhwadia highlighted that at 570, Gujarat has the highest number of hazardous factories in India, including 98 in Bharuch and 89 in Vadodara. “It is my request that such steps be taken so that no more accidents happen in these hazardous factories,” he stressed.
In his response, Rajput said the government is taking these steps as per the changing technology and nature of accidents. With regard to the accident at the Vadodara pharma factory, Rajput said that the next of kin of three labourers have been given Rs 30 lakh by the factory as compensation and they will get other compensation from the state government as per rules. He also stated that the factory has been ordered to shut and a detailed inquiry is on.
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