Hyderabad, July 29 (RAHNUMA): Reaffirming the Telangana government’s commitment to ensuring the highest safety standards across industries, Minister for SHAKTI (Labour, Employment, Training & Factories), Mines & Geology, Dr. G. Vivek Venkatswamy, said the government is taking industrial safety with utmost seriousness.
He called for a strong safety culture through coordinated efforts by the government, industrial managements, and workers to eliminate industrial accidents.
The Minister inaugurated the two-day national workshop on “Process Safety of Combustible Dusts”, organised by the National Safety Council (NSC), Telangana Chapter, at the Federation of Telangana Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FTCCI) in Lakdikapul on Wednesday. He also released a special publication on combustible dust during the event.
Addressing the gathering, Vivek Venkatswamy expressed concern over industrial accidents caused by combustible dust explosions and gas leakages across the country. While comprehensive safety rules and regulations are already in place, he observed that their implementation often remains inadequate.
The Minister said that under the Ease of Doing Business framework, industries have been given greater operational freedom, but this freedom must be accompanied by greater responsibility. Industries, he said, should voluntarily adopt and strictly adhere to the highest safety standards without requiring constant government intervention.
Referring to the recent Sigachi incident, the Minister said it should serve as a wake-up call for every industry. He noted that the failure to invest merely ₹15 lakh to ₹20 lakh in essential safety measures had ultimately resulted in the loss of precious lives and caused financial losses running into hundreds of crores of rupees for the company. Attempts to save relatively small amounts on safety, he warned, often lead to devastating human and financial consequences.
The Minister directed that industrial safety should become a mandatory agenda item in every company board meeting. Factory occupiers and board members, he said, must continuously monitor compliance with safety standards and treat expenditure on safety not as a cost but as a long-term investment.
