Year on, safety audit of Barotiwala industries yet to be completed

Nearly a year after the formation of an inter-departmental task force to conduct a comprehensive safety audit of industrial units in the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) industrial area, the work remains far from complete. The task force was created in response to a devastating fire at NR Aromas, a perfume manufacturing unit in Barotiwala, which claimed nine lives on February 2 last year. The tragedy underscored the need for stricter safety protocols across industrial units, yet progress has been sluggish.

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Industries Minister Harshwardhan Chauhan acknowledged the delay and said he would soon seek a report from the committee. He assured that industries failing to meet safety standards would be instructed to rectify their shortcomings to prevent such fatal incidents in future.

The task force had earlier devised a questionnaire for industrial units, requesting information on the use of inflammable materials, fire safety measures in place, and evacuation plans. This checklist was circulated among the industries, but according to Rajiv Aggarwal, president of the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh Industries Association, no further action has been taken. He added that the industries had been categorised based on fire risk, with around 90 per cent falling under the low-risk category, while the remaining units were identified as high-risk due to the use of hazardous chemicals.

The NR Aromas fire incident exposed serious lapses in safety norm compliance. The company had violated Town and Country Planning (TCP) norms by constructing tin sheds on open spaces that were supposed to remain vacant. One shed extended to three floors, exceeding the permitted limits, and the unit had only one exit instead of the mandatory two. These violations severely hampered fire safety operations during the incident.

Chauhan emphasised the importance of addressing such violations and revealed that the fire department, in collaboration with the Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh Development Authority, was supposed to conduct joint audits. The task force had also planned to implement regular mock drills for industries handling hazardous materials to assess their emergency preparedness. However, these measures are yet to be fully implemented.

The delay in the safety audit has raised concerns about the vulnerability of industrial units in the BBN area. With nearly a year gone by and little progress made, the government now faces mounting pressure to expedite the audit process and enforce fire safety regulations to avert future tragedies.