The Boilers Bill 2024 | Why has the Centre retained most features of the colonial act?

Another colonial-era legislation is set to bite the dust as Parliament is seeking to push the Boilers (Amendment) Bill, 2024 in the second part of the Budget session. Passed by Rajya Sabha in the Winter session, the Boilers Bill, 2024 will replace the Boilers Act of 1923. The Bill is aimed at regulating industrial boilers and ensuring uniformity in operations. 

Seeking to ensure safety of life and property from the danger of boiler explosions, the Bill details standards of construction and maximum pressure specifications, as well as the registration and periodic inspection of all boilers, said Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. Opposition MPs questioned the environmental, security and sustainability concerns in the proposed legislation; however, all the amendments suggested by them were defeated in Parliament via voice vote in.

Offering a reason as to why the Centre has not majorly tweaked the 1923 Act, Mr. Paresh Haribhakti, Managing Director, TCR Advanced Engineering, said, “For small, medium and large-scale boilers, applying the same rules changes the dynamics of compliance. I think that this has been done to balance this aspect.”

What are the proposed changes in The Boilers Bill, 2024?

As a subject on the concurrent list, boilers fall under the ambit of both the Centre and the State governments. Defining boilers as a pressure vessel in which steam is generated by application of heat, the Bill excludes locomotive boilers, pressure vessels under the control of the Army, Navy or Air Force and sterilizer vessels under hundred litres. It also excludes boilers with a capacity less than twenty-five litres, operating at a temperature below 100 degrees Centigrade. 

The colonial act involves three key aspects: the Central Boilers Board, Inspection and offences. 

The Centre is empowered to constitute a Central Boilers Board headed by the Central Department’s Secretary and comprising of members from the Centre, Bureau of Indian Standards, boiler manufacturers, engineering consultancy agencies, and users, all nominated by the Centre. An equal number of representatives from each State — senior technical officers involved in inspection of boilers — will also be nominated to the Board. 

This board can regulate design, manufacture, erection and use of boiler and boiler components to protect people and property from boiler explosions. It can also make rules regarding registration and inspection of boilers, and establish criteria for competent and inspecting authorities. The rules framed by the Board must be laid in both Houses of Parliament when in session. 

A team of experts from the National Sugar Institute (the Central institute for research in sugar technology) inspected the Mysugar Mill, for a first-hand assessment of the ongoing overhauling works of boiler and other machinery, in Mandya on June 14, 2016

The State government has the power to appointment inspectors (Chief and Deputy) — public servants who meet the criteria prescribed by the Central Government. These officials are tasked with inspecting boilers during erection, manufacture, repair, and/or alteration. They can register boilers, certify owners, and authorise structural alterations and additions as well as the renewal of boiler certifications. Withdrawal or revocation of certification also falls under the scope of the Chief Inspector’s powers. Appeals to any revocation or refusal of grant or registration are first raised with the Chief Inspector and then the Central government. These decisions are final and cannot be challenged in any court.  

Inspection and certification of boilers and boiler components can also be done by an institution recognised by the State government known as an ‘inspecting authority’. This authority has to submit a report on its inspection to the Chief Inspector for approval. For grant of certification to welders of boilers and its components, the government can also authorise a ‘competent authority’. This authority can approve repairs or modifications and renew certificates.

“By providing access to a third-party, it will probably ease the doing of the business. Guidelines for manufacturing remain the same. Any competent person who is doing inspection based on the certified agency should work as per the predefined rules. Certification by third-party is also based on certain standards set by the CBB. The idea is to expedite and to improve overall efficiency,”says Mr. Haribhakti.

Provisions relating to accidents and penalties

In the Bill, an accident is defined as an explosion of boiler or boiler components or an uncontrolled release of water or steam and has to be reported within 24 hours.

Describing what is categorised as an accident, Mr. Haribhakti says, “A power boiler has typically about 500 kilometer tubings inside the boiler. When heat is provided inside the boiler, the tubes outside act as a barrier. Any tube failure which occurs inside the boiler will only hamper production and not harm life (of a person) as it occurs in a closed system. However, in small boilers, when a tube leak/rupture occurs, it increases the pressure, leading to explosion. This is a concern.”

He adds, “In India, overall, accidents have reduced in boilers and we are following quite a reasonable model of inspection.”

Karnataka: A portion of the boiler collapses after a fire accident in Nandi cooperative sugar factory in Babaleshwar in Vijayapura district Special arrangement | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT

The Bill has retained stringent penalties and imprisonment for certain offences. Unsanctioned structural alteration, addition or renewal, failure to report an accident, rendering a safety valve inoperative and allowing a person to enter boiler without disconnecting the pipe connection may attract a two-year imprisonment along with a fine upto ₹1 lakh. The penalties, fines and costs can be utilised in any manner as prescribed by the State Government. Sanction by the Chief Inspector is mandatory to prosecute any offences committed in violation of the act.

The major change to the old Act is that State governments have been allowed to exempt any area of the Act, which has raised safety concerns.

“Giving autonomy to the State government or keeping it centralized should not come in the way of safety. No State would want to compromise on safety,” says Mr. Haribhakti.  He adds that freedom to States in boilers brings more flexibility in operations.

Apart from this, other changes include further elaboration of the powers and duties of the Central Boilers Board, inspectors and State governments and hike in penalties to match current conditions.

Despite the fact that changes are limited, Mr. Haribhakti says that the Bill’s intent is to promote digitisation and use of advanced technology. Batting for more risk analysis in boilers, he adds, “India should focus on risk-related inspection. There should be a risk measurement agency which finds out what the risk is in running the boiler than the risk of its remaining life. This risk mitigation helps in extending plant life and ensures better safety.”