Chamoli electrocution incident caused due to lax electrical safety measures: Report

Lax electrical safety standards, including improper earthing and not installing circuit breakers, led to the tragic July 19 electrocution incident at the Gopeshwar sewage treatment plant in Uttarkhand in which 16 people lost their lives and 12 others were injured, a magisterial inquiry has found.

Patiala-based Jai Bhushan Malik Contractors and Coimbatore-based Confident Engineering India, the two firms operating and maintaining the treatment plant in Uttarakhand and elsewhere in the country should be blacklisted, Chamoli additional district magistrate Abhishek Tripathi recommended in his report submitted on Friday.

“We found two main reasons for the Chamoli electrocution – improper earthing system and non-installation of MCCB (molded case circuit breaker) at the STP,” Tripathi said. “I have recommended blacklisting of the joint venture company all over the country. I have also recommended departmental action against the concerned officials of Jal Sansthan (water supply) and Uttarakhand Power Corporation.”

There was no proper monitoring of the joint venture company’s work and there was lack of coordination between the water and power suppliers, he added.

The probe also found invoices presented to the Jal Sansthan by the company was suspicious.

“By not complying with the electrical supply safety standards, not deploying adequate personnel at the STP, the joint venture company violated its agreement/contract with the Jal Nigam and Jal Sansthan,” the magisterial report said.

Bhaskar Mahajan, director of Axis Power Controls, Delhi, wasn’t an authorised person for the joint venture company, but was still involved in the STP work, the report said, also recommending the blacklisting of Axis Power Controls.

The contract with the joint venture should be cancelled and all expenses and repair costs till the contract expiration should be recovered from the company, Tripathi said in his report. The bank guarantee of joint venture company, amounting to ₹110.75 lakh and valid till July 31, should be confiscated, the report recommended.

Appropriate punitive action should be taken against the joint venture company and Mahajan, the report said. Departmental action should also be taken against concerned officials of Jal Sansthan, who failed to monitor the company’s work appropriately and cleared suspicious bills, it said.

The magistrate also recommended electricity safety audit of all sewage treatment plants so that such incidents could be avoided in the future.

Chamoli district magistrate Himanshu Khurana had ordered the inquiry on instruction from chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. Four people have been arrested so far in connection with the incident.

Police on July 24 arrested Mahajan. On July 21 , police had arrested three people after a case was registered against the supervisor of the joint venture firm that operated and maintained the plant on the banks of the Alaknanda river. They were identified as Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan additional assistant engineer Hardev Lal, joint-venture company supervisor Pawan Chamola and Uttarakhand Power Corporation contractual worker lineman Mahendra Singh.

On Thursday, a first information report was registered under section 304 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Indian Penal Code and relevant sections of the Dangerous Machines (Regulation) Act, 1983, against Chamola and other unidentified officials of the joint venture.

The treatment plant with a capacity of processing 0.5 mega litres per day was set up under the Namami Gange project in 2019 and handed over to Uttarakhand Jal Sansthan in 2021 for supervision, with electricity provided to it by the Uttarakhand Power Corporation.

On July 19 morning, 15 people were electrocuted and 11 others injured at the Gopeshwar plant. They had gathered at the plant as police were investigating the electrocution of the lone security guard at the plant, Ganesh Lal, the night before.