Sigachi fire accident: BRS accuses Telangana CM of reneging on Rs.1 crore aid promise

Hyderabad, April 17 Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) deputy floor leader in Telangana Assembly, T. Harish Rao, on Friday accused Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy of failing to uphold the promise of Rs.1 crore compensation each for the families of 54 workers killed in the fire at Sigachi Industries Limited's unit in Sangareddy district in June last year.

The former minister said CM Reddy has failed to deliver even half of the amount promised.

Harish Rao alleged in a statement that making grand promises only to subsequently disregard his own words, has become a characteristic trait of CM Reddy.

He recalled that immediately after the accident, Chief Minister Reddy visited the accident site and announced that a compensation of Rs 1 crore would be provided to each of the families of the deceased.

"However, a written response submitted by the government in the Assembly made it abundantly clear that this entire exercise was merely a token gesture, and that the justice delivered to the victims amounts to absolutely nothing. This incident stands as irrefutable proof that breaking promises has become a habit for Revanth Reddy," Harish Rao said.

Harish Rao alleged that the collusion between the management and the government to manipulate compensation figures constitutes a fraud of staggering proportions.

"According to the official figures submitted by the government in the Assembly, if one were to divide the total compensation of ₹24.51 crore paid to date among the 54 victims, the average compensation received by each worker's family amounts to ₹45.40 lakh. In other words, out of the one-crore-rupee compensation promised by the Chief Minister, this government has reneged on a balance of approximately ₹54.60 lakh per family — amounting to a total outstanding sum of ₹29.48 crore — thereby leaving the victims in lurch," Harish Rao said.

“It is truly deplorable that, despite making grandiose claims of providing crores, the State Government has so far paid a mere ₹1 lakh to each affected family. So, who is going to provide the one-crore-rupee compensation that the Chief Minister and his ministers promised,” Harish Rao asked.

According to Harish Rao, Sigachi management admitted before the courts that they were providing between ₹40 lakh and ₹42 lakh. However, the actual truth is that they are inflating these figures by bundling together the ₹25 lakh they provided from their own funds with the statutory entitlements — such as PF, ESI, and life insurance payouts — that the workers' families are legally entitled to receive following the workers' demise.

Harish Rao also claimed that they have deducted the medical expenses incurred by workers who passed away while undergoing treatment in the hospital directly from this meagre compensation package. Moreover, this is a callous government that forced the families of eight workers—who were burnt to ashes in the accident and whose remains could not be traced—to run from office to office for months on end just to obtain death certificates.

“This was not merely an accident; it was a mass murder resulting from the management's gross negligence. The investigation clearly established— with irrefutable evidenc e— that safety standards within the factory were completely disregarded,” the former minister said.

He stated that the police remained inert until a case was filed in the High Court on behalf of the victims and the judiciary issued stern reprimands. The perfunctory arrest of the MD — followed by indirect assistance that allowed him to secure bail almost immediately — makes it abundantly clear that there are clandestine agreements in place between the government and the company management, Harish Rao added.

Harish Rao demanded that the government immediately attach the assets of the directors of Sigachi under the provisions of the Revenue Recovery Act. These assets should be liquidated to immediately disburse the compensation of Rs1 crore to each affected family — without any bureaucratic hurdles or preconditions — in accordance with the promise made by the Chief Minister.

On June 30, 2025, a huge fire broke out following a major explosion in the manufacturing plant of Sigachi Industries, Pashamailaram industrial area unit in Sangareddy district, killing 54 workers and injuring 28 others.

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