The corporate sector remains worried over provisions of the Disaster Management Act which will hold managements liable in case a worker tests positive for Covid-19, although the home ministry on Wednesday made it clear that the penal provisions will kick in only for offences “with consent, cognisance or negligence” of employers.“I have just received some clarification that it (liability) could be only for those companies that are negligent in following procedures. If that is so, there is one condition we are not happy with — providing accommodation. There is no way we can provide adequate toilets with enough distancing and accommodation for the employees. Allow us to send buses for picking up and dropping employees within a 10 km radius. We will make sure the buses are cleaned before and after. We don’t employ migrant labour, so we cannot accommodate the workforce in the factory. That way nothing will open. The rules have to be made practical. Companies which follow proper safe practices and hygiene should not be punished,” TVS Motor Company chairman Venu Srinivasan told TOI.Labour secretary Heeralal Samariya sought to comfort industry and told a Ficci webinar on Wednesday that there should be no criminality in Covid management in the industry. “We will take it to the highest level,” he said. In private, industry leaders said that the rules could be misinterpreted by local authorities.“The management should be accountable only to the extent of the measures taken to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in accordance with issued guidelines by the authorities,” added Harsh Goenka , Chairman, RPG Enterprises.Several corporate chiefs see the rules to be a stumbling block for factories to open although the government has allowed operations at lower capacity. “The calibrated restoration of economic activity will be jeopardised by the wrong disincentives. In fact, we need the right incentives. This approach runs counter to the PM’s stated views about placing trust in industry,” Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra tweeted.Home ministry officials are meeting industry representatives on Thursday, where the issue may be discussed.“Sometimes, we are too unforgiving when the government fails. I have a different take on the directive. The intent of the directive is that the accountability for making sure workers are safe lies with the senior management. Somewhere in the process of drafting these, the distinction between an advisory and an order has disappeared. You cannot hold directors responsible for everything that happens. Industry chambers are in talks with the government to make the required changes to the note. It is unlikely that the government will implement an unreasonable rule,” said Aditya Birla Group director HR & Birla Carbon CEO Santrupt Misra.Company executives said that employers are trying their best to ensure compliance with the government guidelines. “No employer wants to be careless or negligent. We can’t guarantee our workers won’t fall sick. But we can guarantee and ensure that rules are followed. When the health ministry itself has come out and said 80% of cases are asymptomatic - how do you pin responsibility? How can you blame the management for spread? There needs to be a balanced approach that will aid a gradual return to normalcy,” said TT Srinivasaraghavan, MD, Sundaram Finance.“It is harsh. We wouldn’t know where a person may get infected. The industry finds it extremely difficult to meet these requirements,” added Kamal Nandi, who heads Godrej Appliances and is also the president of Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association