Jindal Poly Films’ Nashik unit has been served a temporary closure notice by the industrial safety department in the wake of a devastating fire on 21 May that caused extensive damage and injuries to three people, media reports said.
The ravaged plant has been continuously emitting smoke for several days after the fire. A similar incident in the same plant on 1 January 2023 claimed the lives of three people. A fire had broken out in 2013 also, one media report said, though Packaging South Asia could not verify this claim.
The Times of India quoted deputy director M Bhalekar of the state directorate’s Nashik regional office as saying that it was a temporary closure until the company took all the safety measures at its plant.
One report by urbanacres.in quoted Anjali Ahir, joint director of the Industrial Safety Department, as saying that the department had conducted regular inspections and repeatedly flagged issues. “Instructions were ignored, and legal proceedings from the 2023 fire incident are still ongoing.”
The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF), the public works department (PWD), the industrial safety department and the pollution control board have jointly launched an investigation, which will be submitted to the Nashik district collector.
NDTV reported that the notice had been issued due to the inadequate fire extinguishing system and chemical leakage, posing a threat to the environment.
Jindal Poly was quoted as saying that the cause of the fire and the losses would be assessed in due course by the subsidiary entity.
JPFL Films also stated that the plant is fully insured and that the insurer has been notified. A report by asiainsurancepost.com claimed six general insurers, including three PSU general insurers, have been hit with a Rs 2000-crore loss after the fire. PSA could not independently verify the claim.
Jindal Poly Films is one of the leading film manufacturers for the flexible packaging industry and the Nashik plant is of substantial size and scale.
Just 10 days ago, JPFL announced that it is investing approximately Rs. 700 crore in three new film lines at the Nashik plant. The company said that these lines, which would have added another 130,000 tons of capacity, were to be installed in the coming two to three years.
In past years, the company has been adding capacity in terms of film manufacturing lines, and the group also acquired a manufacturer of pressure-sensitive label materials, SMI Coated Products, based in Ambernath near Mumbai. In the first half of 2022, the group divested 25% of Jindal Poly Films’ packaging film business to Canadian investor Brookfield for approximately Rs 2,000 crore.
