First-Of-Its-Kind! Rajasthan Govt Forms Welfare Board To Ensure Safety, Minimise Health Hazards Of Mine Workers

In a first, the Rajasthan government has issued an order to form a Mine Workers Welfare Board, fulfilling one of its poll manifestos and demands of the non-government organisations.

The state government will nominate a president and vice-president to head the seven-member board.

Over 25 lakh workers are engaged in different mining activities in over 33,000 mines in the state. However, due to the lack of a board and violation of the mining policy rules, most of the workers were never recognised as such.

India's mining industry has a poor safety and health record, despite many of the mines owned by the central and state governments. According to government data, the country's mines are dangerous by any standard, with one mine worker dying every six days on average in 2017. India is one of the world's most dangerous countries to be a coal miner.

Minimising Occupational Health Hazards

As per the government order, the board's term will be for three years, which will work for the welfare of the workers that ensures safety, minimising occupational health hazards such as silicosis, education of their kids and other facilities, The Times of India reported.

"This is a historic decision that the government has finally recognised the need to form the board that we had been demanding for 10 years. The mine workers will now have an identity, which can help them claim their rights," Rana Sengupta, director of Mines Labour Protection Campaign, an NGO demanding the constitution of the board for the past several years.

While there are construction or coal workers boards, Rajasthan has become the first state to establish a mining welfare board. However, Sengupta said the state should have done it much before, given the number of people suffering from silicosis and the challenges they face in getting support from the companies they work for and the government.

Silicosis is a long-term lung disease caused by breathing large amounts of crystalline silica dust over many years. Silica is a substance found in certain types of stone, rock, sand and clay, and working with these materials can create very fine dust that a person can easily inhale.

"Since the workers are not recognised officially by the companies, they don't get any support when they suffer from silicosis. In the absence of recognition of a mine worker, it was also tough for them to convince the administration to get the benefits enumerated in the silicosis policy," Sengupta added.

While the Rajasthan government has a silicosis policy and gives compensation during the treatment and after the patient's death, there is no strict regulation to prevent the disease by adopting safety measures. Sengupta said once the mine workers register, the board will have the power to force mine owners to take preventive measures against the deadly disease.

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