Report by correspondent of Kamgar Ekta Committee
The utterly callous attitude of the government towards workers safety and wellbeing at the work place deserves condemnation. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that safety norms are strictly implemented at all work places. This cannot be left to “self–certification” by capitalist owners, as per the newly enacted labour codes. Capitalists who violate safety norms in their establishments must be severely punished.
In the month of March 2026, many accidents in factories were reported in various parts of Maharashtra.
On 2nd March, in Bhageria Industries Limited in Palghar district near Mumbai, toxic oleum gas leaked from a storage tank creating a thick white cloud that spread across nearby areas. Over 2,600 people were evacuated, including around 1,600 students from nearby schools.
In a separate event in Palghar district, an ammonia gas leak at an Amul milk processing plant during maintenance of the refrigeration system led to hospitalization of five workers.
On 9th March 2026, a massive fire broke out at a chemical factory called Ganesh Chemical Company, based in Ambernath industrial area near Mumbai. The blaze triggered multiple explosions because large quantities of chemicals were stored inside the plant.
The biggest accident of these took place on 1 March 2026 when a major explosion occurred at the explosives manufacturing unit of SBL Energy Limited in Raulgaon village in Nagpur district. The blast happened in a detonator packing unit. When last reports came in, 22 workers died in the accident and more than 14 workers with major burn injuries are undergoing treatment. Most of them are women workers. It is important to note that most of them were hired through labour contractors as contract or temporary workers.
After more than four weeks since the above accident, the final investigation report to be released by the Government of Maharashtra.is awaited, which will provide further details on the specific causes of the safety failure. Some of the directors of SBL Energy Limited are reportedly absconding to avoid arrest.
SBL Energy Limited is a private Indian company that manufactures industrial explosives, detonators, and blasting accessories mainly for mining, infrastructure, and defence sectors. It has an estimated 10% share of India’s industrial explosives market. Its clients include mining companies, infrastructure contractors, and government agencies with exports to more than 20 countries. It is important to note that in April 2025, a blast reportedly occurred during the detonator crimping process in which 2 women workers suffered burn injuries to their hands and were hospitalized. Many smaller accidents have also reportedly occurred at the factory in the past.
After the recent explosion in the SBL factory, many facts have come out which highlight gross neglect of safety by the Government agencies and profit hungry capitalist owners. It has been reported that investigations by safety agencies like PESO (Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation) and DISH (Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health) found several serious safety violations at the SBL Energy explosives factory. Major safety issues found were:
- Improper storage of explosives
- Poor chemical and material storage practices
- Lack of trained workers
- Many workers involved in high-risk explosive handling were not properly trained.
- Some workers had no basic safety training before starting the job.
- Not employing qualified safety officers, in contravention of Factories Act.
- Deviations from approved factory layout
- Parts of the factory reportedly did not match the approved safety layout plan, which is critical in explosives manufacturing units.
- Poor emergency preparedness, inadequate emergency exits, no proper safety drill for workers
- Unauthorised boiler installation without proper government approval
Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH), Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) and the Local District Administration (fire brigade, local police etc.) are responsible for annual audits and surprise audits of all such factories.
An obvious question which needs to be asked is, what were these government agencies which are supposed to monitor safety issues at explosive manufacturing units doing? Why did they not notice these issues before the accident occurred? Did they really carry out audits as per the mandatory schedule and what were the audit findings? Even 4 weeks after the explosion, this simple question is not being answered by Government of Maharashtra.
It is very important to note that there is a well-documented shortage of inspectors in several government agencies responsible for industrial and explosives safety. This shortage affects inspections mandatory under laws such as the Factories Act, 1948 and Explosives Act, 1884. It has been reported that there were about 1,400 inspectors for more than 2.7 lakh factories, which means each inspector is supposed to carry out safety audit of around 200 factories, an absolutely impossible task. This results in “paper audits” instead of genuine physical audits.
As per reports, in Maharashtra also only 30 factory inspector posts are filled out of sanctioned 105 posts! Experts say this shortage is one of the major reasons industrial accidents still occur in hazardous industries, including explosives manufacturing. This however suits the capitalist owners perfectly, who in their greed for maximising production and profits, resort to extremely high workload with minimal safety provisions. In detonator packing kind of work, an overworked worker, with dulled reflexes and tired mind and body is a sure shot recipe for disaster. With increased contractualization, untrained workers are employed even for such dangerous work as detonator packing. It is thus very clear that various Government agencies, irrespective of which political parties have formed the government, actively collude with the capitalists in their criminal neglect of safety of workers. That is why, even though tens of thousands of workers lose their lives and tens of thousands are seriously injured all over the country in hundreds of industrial accidents every year, in not even one such incident the capitalist owners are declared guilty and severely punished.
But the capitalists are ever greedy for more profits, and hence want more relaxations. That is why as per their diktat, the Central Government has recently imposed the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020. As per this code, the capitalist factory owners are supposed to give “self declaration” that they are following all safety norms and “Risk-based inspections is supposed to replace mandatory periodic routine inspections by government agencies”. This is what the government and its supporters mean when they talk about “ease of doing business”. The four Labour Codes, thus not only ensure “ease of doing business” but also gravely jeopardise security and safety of working people of our country.
Kamgar Ekta Committee condemns the government for its utterly callous attitude towards workers safety and wellbeing at the work place. It is the responsibility of the government to ensure that safety norms are strictly implemented at all work places. This cannot be left to “self certification” by capitalist owners. Capitalists who violate safety norms in their establishments must be severely punished.