How did so many houses come up around Dombivli MIDC?

Every time an industrial mishap happens people blame the factory for it but there are no voices raised against those who encroach the buffer zones of these industrial complexes A boiler blast in the chemical factory at Dombivli MIDC Phase 2 saw the same issue of encroachments in the buffer zone of MIDC A buffer zone of MIDC Dombivli is designated to be 15 km wide The impact of the blast shattered windows of the illegal residential structures falling inside the buffer zone causing injuries to residentsDeven Soni chairman of Kalyan Ambernath Manufacturing Association KAMA in conversation with midday said ldquoBuffer zone is an official term It refers to the distance between the factories and other structures to avoid residents being affected by any direct impact of any hazardous conditions or mishaps at any industryrdquoDamage to a commercial area near the blast siteldquoDombivli MIDC was constructed between the 1960s and 1970s The residents living in the buffer zones have come after the establishment of the industrial zone The Dombivli MIDC has a buffer zone of 15 km What is more concerning is that the authorities responsible for permitting residential structures even permitted them residents to construct residential structures inside the buffer zonerdquo Soni saidldquoIf there are several accidents on a highway the authorities do not close the highway but install a sign board at the spot stating that it is an lsquoaccident prone spot be cautiousrsquo Similar is the case for MIDCs It is an accidentprone spot Authorities should have taken action against the residents encroaching on the buffer zones for the safety of citizensrdquo Soni saidldquoThe windows of nearby residents shattered within a radius of 500 metres and if I am not wrong many individuals were injured due to the windows shattering and glass pieces piercing them If these encroachments would have been dealt with the number of injuries would have been lessrdquoResidents speakMhatre Pada is a village in Dombivli which falls inside the buffer zone Residents of Mhatre Pada have expressed concerns after a series of blasts in the past with the 2016 blast and the recent boiler blast Akshay Mhatre a resident of Mhatre Pada said ldquoWhen the blast happened our family was home Luckily no one was injured by the windows shattering The government had decided to shift the industries to some other place after the 2016 blast But to date no action has been takenrdquoMumbai Fire Brigade officials try to douse the blaze at the chemical plantShailesh Mhatre another resident said ldquoThe issue needs to be brought up We have been living here for years and have also witnessed the 2016 blast No action is taken against the industries We need quick action to make sure that we live here safelyrdquo When asked about the buffer zone he said ldquoThe government had promised that the industries would shift to Ambernath after the zone 6 boiler blast But no action was taken after that as well We are not even aware of any buffer zone and no authorities even told us about the samerdquoDnyaneshwar Munde another resident of Mhatre Pada said ldquoWe live in fear of a blast every day So many chemical factories are there We also have to inhale the chemical fumes in the air daily It is not at all safe for us here and it has been years after the promise was made of shifting the industries Irsquom not sure if the government will wake up after this blastrdquo Mangesh Chitale additional municipal commissioner KDMC in a WhatsApp message said ldquoI am busy in commissionerrsquos meeting Canrsquot comment without getting a complaint paper of allegations by the associationrdquoDeven Soni chairman of Kalyan Ambernath Manufacturing Association Dnyaneshwar Munde a resident Shailesh Mhatre a residentNo hazardous chemical factories in residential areas says CMIn wake of the Dombivli factory tragedy that left 10 dead and 60 injured the state government has decided to shift hazardous chemical factories out of residential areas Speaking at the BMC headquarters Chief Minister Eknath Shinde said ldquoAn expert told me that there was hydrogen peroxide in that factory As the temperature of the boiler increased it exploded like a hydrogen bomb Now we have decided to shift all highly hazardous chemical factories away from residential areas We have also decided to allow the chemical factories to switch to engineering textile IT or any other type of activity We are considering giving incentives to owners of such factories for doing sordquo According to the records of the Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation MIDC chemical factories are located at 13 locationsmdash Ambernath Badlapur Dombivli Kalyan Bhiwandi Lote Parushram Ratnagiri Mahad Raigad Patalganga Raigad Roha Raigad Taloja Raigad Tarapur Palghar Butibori Nagpur and Trans Thane creek arealsquoBoiler a ticking timebombrsquoThe owner of two adjoining units that were damaged in Thursdayrsquos explosion and fire who refused to identify himself told midday that he had recently complained to Kalyan Ambernath Manufacturing Association KAMA that Amudan Chemicals was using hydrogen peroxide H2O2 in the production process KAMA Chairman Deven Soni meanwhile said ldquoI received a complaint against Amudan Chemicals and instructed the owner to stop using hydrogen peroxide The company responded that it would cease its use after completing an order in oneandahalf monthsA few days before the blast I was informed that they were transitioning to a new production line that didnt use hydrogen peroxide but until the transition was complete they had to continue using itrdquo Soni however pointed out that hydrogen peroxide is not flammable but generates significant amounts of oxygen while decomposing Oxygen supports combustion and hence we could see the huge flames and smoke after the blast as hydrogen peroxide started rapidly decomposing due to the heat of the blast15 kmStipulated buffer zone area