Even though there are several hazardous industries in the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC) manufacturing complex at Dombivli, the authorities have been totally negligent about imposing safety norms.
In 2016, a massive fire broke out in Acharya Chemicals killing five people and injuring as many as 125. There was no worthwhile inquiry into the fire and no action was taken against anyone for the major incident.
In October 2018 a huge fire broke out in a rubber factory in the same area. Rubber material was loosely stored in the factory premises and yet no action was taken by the fire brigade. In March 2023 a fire was reported at Ramson Dyeing and in February 2020 multiple explosions were reported from the Metropolitan Eximchem factory.
No action against people responsible for accidents
Till date no action has been taken against the persons responsible for this major incident.
Sources said the main cause of these accidents is high levels of corruption in the fire brigade and pollution control board.
We pay regular haftas to the officials concerned. Otherwise there is no other way we can do business, a factory owner confessed. Trade unions in the area are also very weak and are unable to ensure that safety norms are followed strictly by all factory managements.
Workers function in most hazardous conditions. There is no regular audit of fire fighting equipment in the factories.
The MIDC fire brigade is understaffed and grossly under equipped. The situation has been the same over the years despite the fact that Dombivli is in Thane district, which is the home turf of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
His son Shrikant is the MP from Kalyan. Despite such powerful political presence, Dombivli MIDC Phase I and II present a story of total neglect. This MIDC industrial complex is very prone to disasters and yet the area is shockingly neglected, a local factory owner remarked.
