Despite Microcrystalline Cellulose being international recognized as an explosible particulate, no corrective action, risk assessment, or Dust Hazard Analysis was mandated or recommended, says the scientist in a PIL.
| Photo Credit: MOHD ARIF
A public interest litigation has been filed in the High Court of Telangana seeking directions for expediting investigation into the recent blast at the chemical factory at Pashamylaram on June 30, and payment of compensation to the kin of the victims. The blast resulted in 46 deaths, while eight workers are missing.
Retired scientist Kalapala Baburao approached the court, making the Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary, Labour & Employment, special chief secretaries of Disaster Management, Industries & Commerce, Home, Health, Medical & Family Welfare, Chairperson of the Telangana Pollution Control Board, Commissioner of Labour, Sangareddy District Collector and Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of the Sigachi Industries as respondents.
Citing a fact-finding mission which the petitioner was a part of, the PIL document said majority of the deceased and injured workers were migrants from States such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, and worked as casual labourers for daily wages ranging between ₹500-750 per head. The petitioner also raised doubts about the number of workers who had attended the duty on the fateful day.
While the company maintained that there were only 143 workers, enquiries by the fact finding mission revealed that the number was 163. Attendance registers and the in/out logs maintained by the Security have details about the exact number of workers, but they have been confiscated by the police.
While the company has claimed that the traces of eight workers have not been found at the blast site, their disappearance coupled with the stony silence of the company and the police has caused extreme distress to the aggrieved families, the petitioner noted. CC camera footage could reveal if the workers entered the factory on the said day, but it is being deliberately delayed, he alleged.
The PIL document said that the company had taken no measures to address the risks of ignition of combustible dust, nor did the inspection and regulatory authorities under the Factories Act, 1948 fulfil their duties of documenting and penalising the absence of safety protocols. This is contrary to the globally recognised standards for mitigating combustible dust risks.
Further, Sigachi Industries’ Material Safety Data Sheet for Microcrystalline Cellulose (MCC) wrongly stated that the product did not present an explosion hazard, ignoring well-established global safety standards that classify their product — Microcrystalline Cellulose — as a combustible dust. This omission has fostered a dangerous complacency, the petitioner alleged.
Over nearly 35 years, inspections conducted by the Director of Factories consistently failed to identify MCC as a combustible dust hazard. Despite its widespread industrial use and international recognition as an explosible particulate, no corrective action, risk assessment, or Dust Hazard Analysis (DHA) was mandated or recommended.
The petitioner prayed for directions towards constitution of a special investigation team to enquire into the case, payment of compensation in full to the families of the victims, immediate release of the report of the high powered committee announced by the chief minister in the aftermath of the blast, and recognition of the danger posed by industrial dust accumulations under existing factory regulations, among others.
Under interim relief, among others, the petitioner sought directions for revealing the exact number of workers on the day of the blast, and declaration of the eight missing workers as deceased.
Published – July 25, 2025 09:08 PM is
