Should Safety Managers Report Directly to the CEO? Exploring Statutory Requirements

Dear All, We are a leading manufacturing unit with factories and offices across India. We have qualified safety managers for all of our factories. One of the managers raised a point that he should be reporting to the CEO or MD of the company. Are there any statutory provisions for this?

Regards,
Subhajit

"The Chief Safety Officer or the Safety Officer, where only one Safety Officer is appointed, shall be given the status of a senior executive, and he shall work directly under the control of his Chief Executive. All other Safety Officers shall be given appropriate status to enable them to discharge their functions effectively." - This is what the law says. So it could be either CEO or MD. But the safety officer has to report to the top management representative.