Under which legislation is an On-Site Emergency Plan (OSEP) typically mandated for hazardous-industry units in India?

Question

Under which legislation is an On-Site Emergency Plan (OSEP) typically mandated for hazardous-industry units in India?

1. A. EIA Notification, 2006
2. B. National Green Tribunal Act, 2010
3. C. Factories Act, 1948 (as amended, e.g., Section 41-B) (Correct answer)
4. D. Environment (Protection) Act, 1986

Correct Answer

Option C — Factories Act, 1948 (as amended, e.g., Section 41-B)

Detailed Solution & Explanation

The correct answer is Factories Act, 1948 (as amended, e.g., Section 41-B).

Key Points

• The On-Site Emergency Plan is mandated for hazardous-industry units by the Factories Act, 1948, through Section 41-B, which was inserted by the 1987 amendment following the Bhopal disaster.
• Section 41-B obliges the occupier of a factory involving a hazardous process to disclose information about hazards, and to draw up an on-site emergency plan and detailed disaster control measures, and to make them known to workers and to the local authority.
• The alternatives govern different things: the EIA Notification covers project clearance, the NGT Act adjudication, and the EPA 1986 the general framework.

Additional Information

• The 1987 amendment is the single most important legislative response to Bhopal. Alongside Section 41-B it introduced Section 41-A (site appraisal committees), 41-C (specific responsibilities of the occupier), 41-G (workers' participation in safety management) and 41-H (workers' right to warn of imminent danger).
• Complementing it, the Manufacture, Storage and Import of Hazardous Chemical Rules, 1989, made under the EPA 1986, require an on-site plan for units holding chemicals above threshold quantities and place the off-site plan duty on the District Collector.
• The division is worth remembering: on-site plan is the occupier's duty; off-site plan is the district administration's.
• Units above the higher threshold are designated Major Accident Hazard (MAH) installations and carry the fullest set of obligations.