Nagpur, March 2 Maharashtra minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule said on Monday that there was "negligence" on the part of SBL Energy Limited, based in Nagpur, where an explosion claimed 19 lives, and that the explosives manufacturer did not follow proper safety measures.
The company will provide a compensation of Rs 75 lakh to the families of each deceased and Rs 25 lakh to the injured, the district guardian minister told reporters after a high-level meeting here regarding the incident.
He also said that besides the company, accountability will be fixed on officials of the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health (DISH), and the labour commissionerate, and if found guilty, cases will be registered against them.
The explosion took place at the detonator packing unit of SBL Energy Limited, a manufacturer of mining and industrial explosives, in Raulgaon, Katol tehsil, on Sunday morning.
Nineteen people died and 23 others were injured, according to officials.
Bawankule said that the initial report (by safety agencies) has indicated "negligence" on the part of the explosives company and that proper safety measures were not followed.
The police have arrested nine directors of the explosives manufacturing company in connection with the incident, officials said.
The Kalmeshwar police here have registered a case against 21 directors and shareholders of SBL Energy Limited under Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, they said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced an ex gratia of Rs 2 lakh each for the families of the deceased and Rs 50,000 for the injured from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund (PMNRF) on Sunday.
Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that the Maharashtra government would provide Rs 5 lakh each to the families of the deceased.