Delhi govt responsible for deaths, alleges Meenakshi Lekhi
NEW DELHI: New Delhi MP Meenakshi Lekhi and other senior BJP leaders on Sunday said that negligence of the Arvind Kejriwal government is responsible for the death of workers, especially child labourers, employed in the Bawana factory, which went down in a blaze Saturday evening.
At a press conference here, Lekhi demanded that each of the victims’ family be given Rs 50 lakh compensation.
She also said that Bawana Industrial area is maintained by the Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (DSIIDC), which is responsible for making sure that no illegal manufacturing happens in the factories there.
Lekhi said, “The Labour department of Delhi government is responsible for checking that no child labourers work in factories and that no explosives are manufactured in any confirmed area.”
“It is the Delhi government which is responsible to ensure that fireman have proper equipments, dresses and chemical formations to fight such fires, which were missing yesterday. It is the Delhi government which is accountable for providing proper emergency medical facilities in such industrial areas, which were not available at Maharshi hospital last night,” she added.
She said the DSIIDC owes an explanation to Delhi’s citizens on how the factory was still running, claiming that the North Delhi Municipal Corporation had cancelled its license in February 2015 itself.
North West Delhi MP Udit Raj, who visited the victims in hospitals, said that it was a sorry situation to see doctors trying their best to help the patients, despite the hospitals lacking adequate facilities and medicines.
Both the BJP MPS said that DSIIDC, functioning under Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi ministers Satyendar Jain, Gopal Rai and Imran Hussain, are primarily responsible for allowing this illegal Bawana factory to run. NEW DELHI: Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd. (DSIIDC) on Sunday evening submitted its preliminary report on the factory fire in Bawana Industrial Area to the Delhi Industries minister Satyendar Jain and said that it not granted a licence to the factory.
“Under the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957, the MCD (Municipal Corporation of Delhi) has the powers to regulate the building construction as per approved layout plan. According to Section 349, the MCD has the power to get buildings vacated in cases of violations,” the report noted.
DSIIDC added that the MCD commissioners, in writing, may issue orders to vacate buildings which are not safe from any point, including fire hazards.
“DSIIDC does not have any regulatory functions nor is it mandated to issue any licence/permission for factory buildings or construction,” noted the report.
The report further noted that the Corporation is primarily involved in the organised and orderly development of industrial estates, including the common facilities for promotion of industries in the national Capital.
“The activity mentioned at the time of allotment for this particular factory was plastic goods in an area measuring 100 square meters,” the report noted.