118 criminal cases for safety norms violation,claims state

Giving details of the criminal cases,officials added that the maximum number of criminals cases,47 out of 118,have been filed against construction companies for starting work without mandatory prior safety inspection by authorities.

Patel said that criminal cases also include 19 cases for violations in deep trench works,16 for not informing authorities about accidents and 12 cases for not having the mandatory safety net in place where work is carried out at a height. Vipul Pandya,general secretary of the Bandhkam Mazdoor Sangathan,a construction labourers’ union,supported the government’s claims.

He added: “It is true that these cases have been registered,but the government needs to do more. Many times they get to know about the accidents based on our reports.”

Govt’s own projects violate safety norms

Despite government claims of criminal cases against offenders,its own project,the under-construction ‘Storm Water Drainage System’ (SWDS) project sites under the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC),has seen major safety violations.

At least three fatal accidents were reported this year. Even the Gujarat State Human

Rights Commission (GSHRC) had to issue a directive to the state government’s Labour and

Urban Development Department as well as to AMC,to submit before the Commission a detailed list of measures taken to prevent any future mishap at construction sites.

R L Meena,Secretary,GSHRC had earlier told Newsline that the Commission was looking at this issue since long.

All the stakeholders in the project had assured that all the safety norms would be followed,he had said.

But now the directive by GSHRC clearly indicates that this has not happened.

Even though the state government,under Rule 266 of the aforementioned Act,known as Prohibition Order,is mandated to stop any construction where safety norms for workers are not followed,SWDS works go on unabated in Ahmedabad.