Maharashtra revenue minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Monday said there was prima facie “negligence” by SBL Energy Limited in the blast that killed 19 people in Nagpur district, and that safety norms were not followed at the factory.

He said regulatory agencies, including the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation, the Directorate of Industrial Safety and Health and the labour commissionerate, had also failed to carry out their inspection duties and their accountability would be fixed.

The blast occurred on Sunday at the detonator assembly plant of the company at Raulgaon in Katol tehsil. Nineteen people were killed and 23 injured. Thirteen of the injured are in critical condition.

“The primary report (by safety agencies) has indicated ‘negligence’ on the part of the explosives company and that safety measures were not followed properly,” Bawankule said, adding that a detailed report would be submitted within a month.

He announced compensation for the victims. The company will pay Rs 75 lakh to the families of each deceased worker and Rs 25 lakh to those injured. The Centre will give Rs 2 lakh and the Maharashtra government Rs 5 lakh to the families of the deceased.

“The victims' families will get a total compensation of Rs 82 lakh,” the minister said. He added that a rehabilitation package would be prepared for those who suffered physical disabilities in the incident.

Police have arrested nine directors of the company. The Kalmeshwar police have registered a case against 21 directors and shareholders under Section 105 (culpable homicide not amounting to murder) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

Bawankule said responsibility would be fixed not only on the company but also on officials of safety agencies.

“They have not followed the inspection duties and safety measures properly in the last couple of years. Hence, the divisional commissioner, collector and SP will fix the responsibilty and if needed, cases will be registered against officials of the safety agencies,” he said.

He said discussions were held with Union commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal, during which four to five blast incidents at explosives manufacturing units in Nagpur district over the past few years were flagged.

The divisional commissioner will prepare a report on these incidents and send it to the Centre.

“It will be sent to the Centre so that necessary amendments can be made to the laws concerned, to frame proper SOPs and to prevent such incidents in future,” Bawankule said. Operations at SBL Energy Limited have been shut since Sunday’s blast.

The management has agreed to continue paying salaries to all employees until the factory resumes operations.

The minister said unskilled workers would be given skill development training and only certified workers would be allowed to return when operations restart.

The district collector has also been asked to inspect and review the status of skilled and unskilled workers across industries in Nagpur district.