Baddi perfume factory fire: Now, factories using flammable, hazardous material under lens

Ambika Sharma

Solan, February 5

Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan today announced constitution of a joint task force to review the safety aspect of industrial units using flammable and hazardous substances.

Display evacuation plan outside unit

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A joint inspection panel will be constituted for ensuring strict adherence of the safety norms. The Fire Dept should be informed about the chemicals being used in a factory and the management will be required to display evacuation plan outside the factory. Harshwardhan Chauhan, Industries minister

The minister was at Baddi to review the lapses, which occurred at NR Aromas, a perfume manufacturing unit, gutted in a massive blaze on February 2 at Jharmajri in Barotiwala industrial cluster. Five women died while five other factory workers are reportedly missing in the mishap where the blaze was yet to be doused completely even after four days.

Enquires revealed that the plant had a valid consent to operate till March 2025 and did not require excise certification, as was being alleged, as it did not use alcohol.

Chauhan took the officials of the Labour Department to task for failing to have online record of contractors, who provided labour to the said company. He also asked the fire staff why foam was not used in adequate quantity to douse the fire as use of water re-ignited the fire time and again.

Officials of various departments pondered over the case of NR Aromas and suggested several recommendations.

While giving information, Chauhan said a multi-departmental task force, comprising staff from fire, power, central excise and taxes, state pollution control board, public works, labour, etc., will identify units using inflammable material in the industrial clusters. “They will identify the safety measures required by each unit as well as the laxities following which specific time would be granted to adhere to the norms.”

In a bid to ensure apt fire-preparedness, it has been decided to conduct a fire audit jointly by the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh Development Authority as well as Deputy Director, Factories.

Mock drills should be conducted in units using such inflammable and hazardous products from time to time to check their preparedness to deal with such exigencies.

Data of labour contractors for units using inflammable products should be uploaded online on the Industry Department’s single window portal at the time of issuance of licence.

It was also decided that map approval should be vested with the Industries Department and the HP State Industrial Development Corporation as was done prior to 2019.

Violations found in storage area

• Though the perfume manufacturing unit had an approved building plan, violations were found in the storage area of inflammable material used in the manufacturing process
• According to the officials of the Industry Department, absence of separate entry and exit points and norms like distance of material inflow from other sections of the factory were also not on as per the established norms
• Set up over 600 sq m on an industrial plot in 2010, the perfume manufacturing unit had expanded to 750 sq m in 2013

Plan in place to avert such mishaps

• In a bid to ensure apt fire-preparedness, it has been decided to conduct a fire audit jointly by the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh Development Authority as well as Deputy Director, Factories
• Mock drills should be conducted in units using such flammable and hazardous products from time to time to check their preparedness to deal with such exigencies
• Data of labour contractors for units using flammable products should be uploaded online on the Industry Department’s single-window portal at the time of issuance of licence