The Parliament has passed the Boilers Bill, 2024, with the Lok Sabha approving it today. The Bill repeals the Boilers Act, 1923, and seeks to provide for the regulation of boilers and the safety of life and property of persons from the danger of explosions of steamboilers. The Rajya Sabha has already passed the bill in December last year. The legislation also provides for uniformity in registration and inspection during the manufacture and use of boilers in the country.
For ease of doing business, the bill will benefit boiler users, including those in the MSME sector, as provisions related to decriminalisation have been incorporated into the bill. Out of the seven offences, to ensure the safety of boilers and personnel dealing with boilers, in four major offences which may result in loss of life and property, the criminal penalties are retained in the bill. For other offences, provision has been made for a fiscal penalty.
Replying to a debate on the bill in the Lok Sabha, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said the bill had been brought to Parliament after holding discussions with all the stakeholders. He said the Modi government believes in cooperative federalism, and there is no question of encroaching on the rights of states. He said the new legislation reflects the vision of ease of doing business and ease of living. Mr Goyal said, Today several countries want to collaborate with India as the government is promoting the concept of ease of doing business.
Responding to the opposition’s allegation regarding permitting third-party inspection, due to which safety issues can be compromised, Mr Goyal said, This provision was added in 2007 during the UPA regime, and the present government has not changed this in this legislation. He informed the House that the government has given top priority to the safety aspects in the bill. He said procedures have also been eased to facilitate small business. Mr Goyal also said that the government has shown utmost attention to climate change.
Earlier, initiating the discussion, Dr Kalyan Vaijinath Rao of Congress said that there should be clarity on the norms relating to ensuring safety and addressing the issue relating to certification and its renewal. He also urged the government to address the issue related to pollution emanating from industrial boilers. He also said that earlier in the Boilers Act, 1923, there was no definition of state government, and now in the bill, the definition of the state government was incorporated.
Rajkumar Chahar of the BJP said that the legislation is very important in view of the safety of workers engaged in the industries, and it is also the priority of the government. The provisions made in the legislation will help reduce boiler explosion incidents and ensure the maintenance and monitoring of boilers.
Anand Bhadauria of SP said that the government proposed the same fiscal penalty for small and big industrialists in case of a boiler explosion incident. He said the government should enhance the penalty of the big industrialists so that they employ efficient engineers and technical teams to curb such incidents.
Other members, including Saugata Ray of TMC, D M Kathir Anand of DMK, Kaushalendra Kumar of JD(U), Sher Singh Ghubaya of Congress, Abhay Kumar Sinha of RJD and N K Premachandran of RSP, participated in the discussion.
