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

Parliament aims to replace the colonial-era Boilers Act of 1923 with the Boilers (Amendment) Bill, 2024 for industrial safety.

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.”

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.