Vizag Steel Plant accident: Centre announces Rs 25 lakh ex gratia, job for victims' kin

Visakhapatnam: The Centre has announced an ex gratia of Rs 25 lakh for the families of each worker killed in the Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (Vizag Steel Plant) accident, besides permanent employment to one family member and other support measures, according to Union Steel Minister H D Kumaraswamy.

A severe explosion erupted at the Steel Melt Shop-1 of the plant during casting operations involving molten steel on Monday evening, killing eight workers and injuring six others. The blast triggered a massive fire.

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RINL authorities have launched investigations into the cause of the accident.

"We will provide Rs 25 lakh ex gratia to the family of each deceased employee, whether regular or outsourced. One member of every affected family will be given permanent employment and children will be provided free education," Kumaraswamy said, addressing a press conference late on Monday.

Kumaraswamy, accompanied by Union Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu, Vizag MP M Sribharat and Andhra Pradesh Home Minister Vangalapudi Anitha, inspected the accident site at RINL.

The union steel minister expressed grief over the deaths of eight workers in the explosion and conveyed his condolences to the bereaved families.

He said the compensation package would be in addition to statutory benefits such as insurance, provident fund, gratuity and other entitlements due to the victims' families.

According to Kumaraswamy, the families of the deceased will be allowed to continue residing in the steel plant quarters till the notional date of superannuation of the deceased employees.

He said family members residing outside the township would also be offered quarters as per entitlement if they wished, while children of the deceased would be allowed to continue their education on par with RINL (Vizag Steel Plant) employees.

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Kumaraswamy noted that all treatment expenses of the injured workers would be borne by RINL and announced a compensation of Rs 10 lakh for those who suffered severe injuries.

The union minister appealed to employees not to panic and assured them that the Centre remained committed to the revival and development of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.

He further said Prime Minister Narendra Modi had expressed grief over the accident and announced Rs 2 lakh assistance from the Prime Minister's National Relief Fund for the next of kin of each deceased worker and Rs 50,000 for the injured.

Meanwhile, Kumaraswamy announced the constitution of a special inquiry committee comprising experts from other steel plants to ascertain the causes behind the accident.

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The committee members will arrive in Visakhapatnam on Tuesday, inspect the site and submit a comprehensive report on the reasons for the mishap and measures required to prevent similar incidents in future, he added.

Reiterating the Centre's commitment to employee welfare and safety, Kumaraswamy assured that the government would stand firmly with the affected families during their time of grief.