Delhi Industries playing with fire

The Bawana factory tragedy, in which 17 lives were lost, should have been a wake-up call for the authorities. However, illegal construction, lack of safety norms and passing the buck by the authorities ensure another tragedy is in the making. DNA takes a look

Exactly a week before the fire in a firecracker factory (F-83, sector 5) in Bawana Industrial Area engulfed and killed the 17 workers trapped inside it last Saturday, a three-storey building running a plastic factory in Narela Industrial Area, located just a few kilometres away, turned into rubble — as fire broke out and destroyed the entire structure. However, the only saving grace then was that the eight workers including the supervisor had managed to escape while over 20 fire tenders reached the spot.

The building that came down in the fire which sources say had been sparked by a short-circuit, was C-510. However, since there were no casualties, it was not enough to cause the multiple agencies involved in managing the industrial area to wake up to the seriousness of the issue. Hence, no inspection or investigation was carried out of the condition of other units in the area.

Violating Norms

It was only after the tragedy in Bawana took place that the agencies have swung into action and started a field inspection of all the 16,000 plots in Bawana and Narela. What they have found is that the two industrial areas located a few kilometres away from each other are ripe with violations of fire safety, building norms and working licences.

What's worse is that both the areas have rampant illegal constructions where almost all factories have built extra floors covering almost 100 percent leaving no scope for an emergency escape should a tragedy occur. This is in contravention of the rules for an industrial area which lays down that the plots can only be 60 percent covered leaving 40 percent of the area from the back and front open to allow escape in case of emergency.

"Every other building has covered the entire plot area, which is against the building norms and is dangerous in case of emergencies such as fire," said a civic official associated with investigation in the incident. The Lieutenant Governor has ordered an enquiry in the matter for which a report by all agencies has to be submitted.

Passing the Buck

The Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation (DSIIDC), the agency which is responsible for major development projects in the city, has washed its hands off the incident — a day after it submitted its preliminary report — stating that the ambit of monitoring or regulating factories was not its responsibility. It has put the blame on the municipal corporation which issues licences and sanctions building plans of the area.

A blame game thus ensued between the AAP government and the BJP-ruled civic body, the North Corporation, which in its defence stated that the DSIIDC is the monitoring agency in conforming areas.

"We can take action against illegal units in non-conforming areas where any kind of trade or factory is operating while the area is not earmarked for the same. In this case, the developer which is the DSIIDC and the city government's labour department must be the monitoring agencies and must take responsibility for the same. However, we have ordered an inspection into the matter," said a senior officer of the North Corporation.

Despite repeated attempts, North Corporation commissioner Madhup Vyas was not available for comment.

Running Illegally

The other problem is that many of the units here are rented and those who have rented it are using the unit for packaging or storage. However, these units do not have licences issued by the civic body and have not even applied for one. The firecracker factory too, where the tragedy occurred, also did not have a licence and was running the cold crackers unit "illegally." It had remained shut for many years since its license was rejected in 2014 and had started operations without permission on January 1 this year, and was running till the fire broke out on January 20.

The third cause for concern is that most of the factories have grills and bricks in windows in all the factories. As a result, there is no way one can escape if a tragedy like this occurs. But if one asks factory owners if the grills can be removed and the answer is a resounding no.

Locals say that since well known gangster Neeraj Bawana operates from here there is a lot of fear among the people with factory owners feeling the need to seal up shop. They also claim police officials aren't of much help when a theft occurs and thus they do not report to the police ensuring that factories go unchecked.

Owner-Police Nexus

In fact, locals allege that the Bawana cracker factory was operational due to the owners' connivance with the police. They said that one of factory owners sent money and liquor to a police officer every Saturday to look the other way. But owners and supervisor counter that such actions are necessary for them to live here. "We have to live and work here. For us this is our bread and butter so need to work as smoothly as possible and for that we need to ensure we are not in conflict with the authorities," said Akhil Kapoor, a factory supervisor.

The building of illegal floors, the lack of issuance of proper licences or following of any safety norms ensure that another Bawana or Narela-like tragedy is waiting to happen according to the Delhi Fire Service. Officials at the Delhi Fire Service stated that the way the plans are approved needs more scanning as owners tend to build extra floors and violate norms. Due to this there is no way they can issue them a fire NOC.

"None of the buildings are complying to the norms so NOC can't be obtained at any cost, The tragedy which has struck Bawana can occur in any factory in the Bawana and Narela Industrial areas. Buildings need to be inspected to make sure they are built as per fire safety norms as well so that we can issue NOCs," a senior fire service official said. Sadly that is far from the case at the moment.

Post the Bawana tragedy, life has changed for families of labourers living in the nearby Metro Vihar. While many have not joined back work in the factories, the terror is relived each time they step out of their homes. However, many reveal they will have to go back to work soon as there is no option. With a lack of will from the authorities however to tighten up safety norms another tragedy may soon be in the making here.

HEART OF THE MATTER

What is the issue in Bawana and Narela?

The land is given by the DSIIDC (Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation) to a single person. He then receives a licence from the MCD to operate a particular kind of factory. But officials say many factories are shut down by their owners, who then rent out the space to another person.

What happens then?

This person doesn't procure a fresh licence, but operates the factory — which could be producing something entirely different than what was initially proposed licence. Because they are illegal, many of these factories are boarded up making it a disaster should a fire occur.

What can be done?

Illegal constructions must be knocked down, thorough inspections to ensure buildings follow fire safety norms, clear signs, among many other measures. Fire department officials insist workers be told what to do in the event of a fire with basic fire safety norms explained to them.

Will Bawana fire change things?

The government has ordered an inquiry and owner Manoj Jain has been arrested. Co-accused Lalit Goyal too has been arrested and compensation ordered for the victims. However, the issue has been politicised with the focus shifting to NDMC Mayor Preeti Aggarwal's controversial remarks caught on video on the issue. Aggarwal has claimed that the video is fake.