VISAKHAPATNAM: INSPECTOR of Factories of Andhra Pradesh Department of Labour and Employment inspected the agro-industrial unit at Nandyal a few days ago and found serious shortcomings in its safety aspects, former Union energy secretary EAS Sarma has said.
As in the case of the recent LG Polymers gas leak in Vizag, the inspector had failed to take any action, which resulted in the ammonia gas leakage and subsequent loss of life, he alleged. The Inspectorate of Factories is not taking action to close down unsafe industrial units in the State. Due to this, the overall industrial safety culture in the State is deteriorating, Sarma said. In a letter addressed to Union secretary of MoEFCC RP Gupta and AP Special Chief Secretary Neerabh Kumar Prasad on Sunday, Sarma said in the accident one company officer lost his life and several others injured.
“We do not seem to have learnt any lesson from the previous accidents. As a result, the Centre and the State governments seem to be deliberately creating a scope for occurrence of more such accidents,’’ he said. He said the company has neither disclosed the environmental clearance on its website nor has it uploaded the sixmonthly compliance reports as required. People residing close to the unit have been complaining of air pollution, but AP Pollution Control Board (APPCB) has failed to take any action, he said.
He said APPCB issued a notice on April 26, 2016 asking the unit as to why it should not be closed down, but the board failed to move forward. The APPCB has once again inspected the unit recently and issued yet another show-cause notice on June 11, but failed to take action, he said.