15 workers killed, nine injured in accidents at Bhilai Steel Plant

Raipur: At least 15 workers were killed and nine injured in accidents at the Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) in Chhattisgarh’s Durg district, over the last three and a half years, state Minister Shivkumar Dahariya informed the legislative Assembly on Friday.

Responding to a query by Congress MLA Devendra Yadav during the Question Hour, the state labour minister said the investigation into 22 accidents that occurred at the BSP showed that the plant management had employed workers without assessing the dangers involved in the task.

Yadav, who represents the Bhilai Nagar constituency, sought to know the details of the accidents that had taken place in the BSP from 2019 till June 2022 and the number of regular and contractual labourers who were killed or injured in them.

He also asked if the plant has given jobs to the kin of contractual workers who died in these incidents on compassionate grounds.

At least 15 workers were killed and nine contractual workers suffered serious injuries in 22 accidents at the BSP during this period. Of the deceased, 12 were contractual labourers, while three were regular workers (of the BSP),” Dahariya said.

Following an investigation, it was found that the plant management had employed workers without assessing the threats involved in the task, thereby adopting an unsafe procedure that resulted in accidents, the minister said.

He further said that under the Factories Act 1948, it is the responsibility of the concerned plant management to take care of the safety of workers employed in their facility.

Under labour laws, there was no provision to provide jobs on compassionate grounds to the kin of the deceased workers in factories, Dahariya said, citing that the labour department, however, takes initiative on humanitarian ground to ensure jobs to the dependents of deceased workers.

The minister further informed that the BSP management gives compassionate appointments as per the company policy.

Of the 15 labourers who died between 2019 and June 2022, the BSP had given jobs to the dependents of four deceased contractual labourers and two regular workers on compassionate grounds, Dahariya added.

Meanwhile, Yadav requested the minister to constitute a state-level committee to conduct regular inspections of the BSP to check the safety standards.

The BSP is the flagship unit of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), a Government of India undertaking.