HUMAN SECURITY-India's alarming track record in industrial safety

Accountability is a pressing concern in the aftermath of recent industrial incidents in Chennai and Maharashtra, shedding light on India's alarming track record in industrial safety. These events not only underscore the immediate need for a robust response system but also prompt critical inquiries into systemic deficiencies.

 In the case of the oil spill from CPCL, a petroleum refinery in north Chennai on December 4, the lack of timely action exacerbated the damage. The oil slick continued to spread unchecked for three days until media coverage compelled a response. Had both the company and the state government acted promptly, could the environmental impact have been confined to a smaller area?

 One glaring issue is the inadequacy of India's regulatory framework, designed to address situations where market-driven outcomes fall short. Industries, particularly in pollution control and safety, lack sufficient incentives to address issues internally. The regulatory mechanism, tasked with mitigating this gap, is itself underwhelming in India. For instance, in the industrial cluster around Pune, fewer than 20% of factories comply with fire safety regulations, resulting in over 20 recent fatalities in industrial accidents in Pune and Nagpur.

 

The fundamental economic principle of making the polluter pay globally is undermined in India, as exemplified by the CPCL incident in Chennai. While CPCL seeks a state government examination into potential contributions from other industrial units to the oil slick, fishermen affected by the spill resort to using buckets to extract oily water and demand compensation, even blocking roads in pursuit of redress for their lost livelihoods.

 India's legal system displays a peculiar imbalance, tending to overregulate functional market areas while remaining ineffective in addressing poor outcomes. Following accidents in Maharashtra, the response includes police filing FIRs against unidentified individuals and workers blocking highways to compel companies to explain their role in the incidents.

 Comparing the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the US in 2010, one of the worst industrial accidents, offers a stark contrast. Despite a sprawling oil slick covering 43,000 square miles, a record $20.8 billion settlement was reached between responsible party BP and the US government within five years. This underscores the possibility of a speedy resolution even in massive environmental disasters.

 

In conclusion, India's environment and safety laws, far from impeding economic progress, suffer from inefficacy that not only jeopardizes lives but also disrupts livelihoods. The question of accountability looms large in addressing these systemic failures.