Dombivli factory blast: Co-owner arrested, high-level panel to probe incident

State industries minister Uday Samant announced on Tuesday that the state government has constituted a three-member high level committee to investigate the incident. The committee will also classify hazardous industries into three categories so that they can be shifted to areas away from residential complexes

Mumbai/ Thane: Sneha Malay Mehta, co-owner of the chemical factory in Dombivli MIDC where blasts on May 23 led to the death of at least 10 persons, was arrested on Tuesday by the Thane crime branch. Both she and her husband and co-owner Malay Mehta, arrested earlier and remanded in police custody till May 29, have been charged with culpable homicide and causing death by negligence.

Thane, India - September 14, 2022: Maharashtra Industries Minister Uday Samant addresses a press conference on Vedanta and Foxconn companies, at Thane Collectorate, in Thane, Mumbai, India, on Wednesday, September 14, 2022. (Praful Gangurde/HT Photo) (HT PHOTO)

Meanwhile, state industries minister Uday Samant announced on Tuesday that the state government has constituted a three-member high level committee to investigate the incident. The committee will also classify hazardous industries into three categories so that they can be shifted to areas away from residential complexes, he said.

“The committee will probe the reasons behind the blast and ascertain whether the company has violated rules and regulations. It will also classify industries into three categories, based on which decisions on relocating them will be made by the government,” Samant told reporters.

Comprised of three senior bureaucrats – principal secretary (industries) Harshdeep Kamble, principal secretary (labor) Vinita Vaid Singhal, and principal secretary (environment) Pravin Darade, the committee with survey all 178 industries located inside the Dombivli MIDC complex. “We will shift only those industries that are extremely hazardous and have violated laws – such units will be placed in the ‘A’ category,” said Samant. The decision to shift hazardous units from Dombivli to the Patalganga and Jambhivali MIDCs was taken during a review meeting chaired by Samant on Tuesday. The government is also looking at the option of shifting these industries to areas within the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) that are unlikely to become residential hubs in the next 25 years.

The three-member panel will suggest a scheme for relocation that will benefit the industrial units, so they don’t have to face losses, said Samant. “We will ensure the industries that need to be shifted won’t face losses by extending benefits and waivers to them. The scheme will first be discussed with the owners. We cannot disclose more at the moment because of the code of conduct,” he remarked.

Panic among factory owners

Owners of industrial units in Dombivli were gripped by panic on account of Samant’s statements. They also claimed the MIDC had started sending them consent forms for shifting their factories without any consultation.

Deven Soni, chairman of the Kalyan Ambernath Manufacturers’ Association (KAMA), who received a notice from the MIDC on Tuesday afternoon, said, “MIDC started the drive to take consent from factory owners about shifting their units last evening. Since then, I have received several calls from factory owners, saying they have been asked to submit the forms within 24 hours.” Soni said it was impossible for a factory owner to give consent within 24 hours as shifting was not a small task. “The action of MIDC has spread panic among factory owners,” he said, adding that KAMA should have been taken into confidence before sending the forms. “We will call the meeting of concerned factory owners and discuss the issue in detail,” said Soni.

Following a similar incident at the MIDC complex in 2016, the authorities had identified around 156 factories that needed to be shifted out for pollution and safety reasons. The Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government had decided to shift these factories to Patalganga at Rasayani in Raigad district. But the plan was put aside after the change of government in June 2022.

With inputs from Saurabha Kulshreshtha