Chief secretary to review safety of industries in state

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray has instructed Chief Secretary Ajoy Mehta to review the safety of all industries in the state within the next fortnight, in the backdrop of the accident in the Tarapur industrial estate, in which eight people were killed on Saturday. The task has been assigned to the CM's Principal Secretary Bhushan Gagrani and Mehta, who are also tasked with suggesting corrective measures.

Industries minister Subhash Desai announced that the CM would review the safety of chemical industries in Tarapur Industrial estate. On Monday, Thackeray met Desai and Mehta.

Leader of Opposition in the legislative council, Pravin Darekar, visited the accident site and the hospital where the injured are being treated.

Darekar expressed anguish over the non-filing of a First Information Report (FIR) in the case. When contacted, police officers claimed that as the investigation report from the Directorate General of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH) is yet to be submitted, they have been unable to file an FIR. Satej Patil, the minister of state for home affairs, has directed police to file the case immediately.

"The DISH report will be submitted on Tuesday to police," Labour Commissioner Mahendra Kalyankar told the FPJ. Labour minister Dilip Walse Patil reviewed his department on Monday and also instructed that serious measures be taken in this regard.

'No DISH nod had been sought'

"The factory in question had not sought any permission from DISH. We are investigating the matter but are

facing a problem, as the witnesses to this accident are in hospital, in serious condition. We gathered some information about the chemicals used by the factory but need some more information," a senior DISH official told the FPJ.

Most polluted industrial estate: CPCB

Tarapur was declared the most polluted industrial estate in the country in September 2019 by the Central Pollution Control Board. Every year, four or five accidents occur on this estate. "Though many people have died in this industrial estate in the last two decades, for the first time, financial assistance of Rs. 5 lakh was declared to the affected," said a local journalist, Pankaj Raut.