Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Secretary Anu Garg on Wednesday stressed the need to make industrial safety an integral part of performance reviews, saying accidents should not be viewed as natural or inevitable outcomes of industrial activity.
Addressing a state-level workshop on “Safe Industry, Strong Odisha – Excellence in Technology, Innovation and Industrial Safety” at Krushi Bhawan Auditorium here, Garg said industrial growth was crucial for achieving the goals of Viksit Odisha 2036 and Viksit India 2047, but safety must remain a top priority alongside development.
“Industrial safety must be given the highest priority by industrial organisations and by officials who ensure compliance with rules,” she said, urging industries, academicians and the Labour and Employees’ State Insurance Department to work together to strengthen safety practices.
Garg called for safety performance to be accorded the same importance as other key industrial performance indicators during regular reviews and monitoring.
She also stressed the need to move away from the perception that industrial accidents are unavoidable, saying several incidents stem from systemic failures that develop over time due to inadequate attention to safety.
“Every day we must ask ourselves how we can make our processes and workplaces even safer,” the Chief Secretary said, advocating continuous monitoring, robust systems and collective responsibility to build a stronger industrial safety environment in Odisha.
The one-day workshop was organised by the Directorate of Factories and Boilers under the Labour and Employees’ State Insurance Department and inaugurated by Principal Secretary Dojja Venkata Swamy.
The workshop focused on strengthening industrial safety standards through technological interventions, innovation and effective leadership.
The first technical session covered technology-driven safety measures in the iron and steel sector, digital interventions in aluminium smelting and technological solutions for improving safety in coal-based thermal power plants. Experts from Tata Steel, Vedanta Aluminium Metal and NTPC shared their experiences.
The second session, themed “Safe Industry, Strong Odisha – Strengthening through Leadership”, examined changing industrial environments and the need to adapt safety systems accordingly. A Startup Odisha representative also presented “Banbhi: Enhanced Air Mobility”, highlighting emerging technological solutions.
Senior government officials, industry representatives, safety experts and other stakeholders participated in the workshop and deliberated on measures to create safer industrial workplaces.
Director of Factories and Boilers Indramani Tripathy, Deputy Director (Safety) M K Pradhan and Assistant Director (Safety) Anil Kumar Nanda were among those present.
