Safety officers in most of the industries are inadequate
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu (Photo: DC/File)
Kakinada: Industrial safety is a major area of concern as Andhra Pradesh is making efforts to attract varied investments to the sector. Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu is inviting entrepreneurs within the country and abroad to invest in the state. However, the number of safety and health officers in most of the industries is inadequate. Due to efforts being made for rapid industrialisation and economic development in Andhra Pradesh, the consumption of fossil fuels and mineral wealth is also expected to increase many fold, which in turn is causing pollution of water, air and environment.
According to Factories Department sources, there are more than 26,400 small, medium and large scale industries including chemical process, mining, food processing, engineering, power plants and others in 13 districts of Andhra Pradesh state. But, trained and qualified safety and health officers are few in number. Although companies show their presence in the records, the safety officer is not physically present, according to industrial experts and advisors.
Many companies appoint safety and health officers from one of their em-ployees and some of them give two or three months training. But, the industrial experts made it clear that it is not sufficient for the safety of employees or workers in the factories. “According to the Factories Act, one safety and health officer should be appointed in the factories where there are more than 1,000 workers. Ninety per cent of the industries have a safety officer’’ said the Director of Factories G. Balakishore.
However, according to industrial experts, there are only a few hundred safety professionals (below 100) in AP which is grossly inadequate to protect and safeguard employees as well as people of surrounding zones. “It is also equally important to provide and maintain a healthy and safe work environment and to protect the employees and neighbourhood by formulating safety procedures, systems and organisations and ensuring the health and safety in industries’’ said V.Satyanarayana, an industrial expert and the senior faculty of School of Health Sciences and Research Environmental Health and Safety. An Industrial Advisor and visiting faculty of the department S.Venkata Ratnam said that though there are few employees in an industry, they should appoint a safety and health officer, if it is a hazardous establishment. He said that 29 hazardous industries have been identified by the Government of India and all these industries should appoint the safety and health officer.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
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