Bawana fire: DSIIDC submits preliminary report; AAP govt blames BJP-led civic body for incident

New Delhi: A day after 17 people lost their lives in a blaze at a firecracker factory in Bawana Industrial area, the AAP government on Sunday blamed the BJP-led civic body for the incident. [caption id=“attachment_4313311” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Police personnel stand guard outside the fire-crackers factory, where 17 persons died in a massive blaze at Bawana, in New Delhi. PTI[/caption] The Delhi State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd (DSIIDC), in its preliminary report, stated that it does not have any regulatory functions nor is mandated to issue any type of license or permission for factory construction. The report, submitted to Delhi Industries Minister Satyendar Jain, stated that DSIIDC is primarily involved in the organised and orderly development of industrial estates including the common facilities for promotion of industries in Delhi. Citing the report, Jain said the responsibility of issuing a license and approve building plans lie with the municipal corporations and they should have taken care of it. “The right to stop any illegal factory being set up in the industrial area also lies with the municipal corporation. They should have done it… now they are doing politics over the matter,” he said. According to the report, the activity mentioned at the time of allotment for this particular factory was plastic goods in an area measuring 100 square meters. “It was gathered from the site that the premises was being used to carry out packing and storage of firecrackers without obtaining due clearances from the authorities,” the report stated. “Though the final reason (for the fire) will be ascertained following a complete inquiry, it has been informed that the fire was reported due to an explosion of certain types of explosives/firecrackers being packed at the site,” it said. The report also stressed that according to Master Plan of Delhi 2021, manufacturing or packaging of explosives are “not permissible” and the municipal corporations are “mandated to stop and not allow” any such industrial activity.