Inspections of factories in various states and UTs almost tripled to a 13-year high

New Delhi: Inspections of factories in various states and Union Territories by the Labor Department nearly tripled in 2019 to a 13-year high. According to the latest data released by the Labor Bureau, the total number of inspections conducted by the Department of Labor increased to 85,558 in 2019, up from 28,489 in 2018.

The data released by the Labor Bureau on Factory Inspection is a compilation of data from States and Union Territories. It is prepared under the Factories Act, 1948, which requires all registered factories to file annual statutory returns and administrative reports with their local labor commissioners.

92,261 tests were conducted in 2006, which is more than the number of tests conducted in 2019. According to the rules framed under the Act, the inspector level officer has to investigate the grievances of workers, trade unions, private individuals etc.

Of the total 2,34,696 registered factories, 69,328 factories (29.5 percent) were inspected only once in 2019, while 15,272 (6.5 percent) factories were inspected twice and 584 Factories (0.2 per cent) were inspected three times.

Sources said the main reason for the increase could be large industrialized states, which had not filed data earlier and did so this year. Due to this, fluctuations are being seen in the figures of the Labor Bureau. Such violations are mostly committed by small and medium-scale labor-intensive enterprises. They do not have the resources to comply with the provisions of the law.