Friday, 17 May, 2024
By: Yash Gupte
From June 2016 to June 2019, a total of 417 miners were killed in fatal mine accidents, with 238 of the victims being coal miners. Image Source: IANS
The commercial coal mine auctions will benefit society by creating jobs and improving infrastructure in the coal-bearing regions, with an expected yearly revenue generation of Rs. 14,650 crores
On March 9, 2023, the most recent coal mine auction came to an end, and victors included Jindal Electricity, JSW Steel, Ambuja Cement, and UltraTech Cement. The Ministry of Coal began the biggest chunk of the commercial coal mine auctions on November 3, 2023, with the 6th round and the second attempt of the 5th round. The auctions experienced significant competition due to a number of first-time bids in this round and an average revenue share of 22.12 percent. This is an indication of the sector's ongoing interest as well as coal mining's secure future in India. This also signifies that the reforms brought in by the Government in the coal sector through the introduction of commercial coal mining have been well received by the industry.
The requirement for imported thermal coal would be greatly reduced by coal production from these mines, which would also minimize reliance on public sector coal mining firms. The commercial coal mine auctions will benefit society by creating jobs and improving infrastructure in the coal-bearing regions, with an expected yearly revenue generation of Rs. 14,650 crores (excluding Partially Explored coal mines) assessed at PRC. It is projected that these auctions will result in a capital investment of about Rs. 11,250 crore and the creation of almost 1,00,000 jobs. The monetized value of these mines is Rs 71,192 crore exceeding the target set by Ministry of Finance. These mines once operational will contribute to more than 7 percent of country’s coal requirement.
As the government is taking major steps in auctioning of coal mines and eyeing at employment generation and infrastructural development, India Tracker takes a look at one of the most important aspects of the coal mines- ‘Safety.’ The Standing Committee on Safety in Coal Mines had recently convened its 48th meeting in New Delhi under the leadership of Union Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi. Standing Committee is the highest Tripartite Committee at the national level to review the status of safety in coal mines and adequacy of existing measures in a spirit of mutual cooperation and sharing of ideas and suggestions. The union minister said that safety is the top priority in the coal sector and all coal companies must ensure that there is no scarcity of fund for ensuring safety measures. He also said that mine safety is always given the highest priority in the coal sector and asked strictly to follow. ‘Safety First, Production Must’ in all mines must be followed in order to ensure safe mining.
Apart from long-term health issues, mines in India are also responsible for many accidents and loss of lives. According to an estimate by the Directorate General of Mines Safety, mine accidents cause numerous deaths every year. From June 2016 to June 2019, a total of 417 miners were killed in fatal mine accidents, with 238 of the victims being coal miners. It must be noted that the data on the mining accidents and the deaths of workers in mines differs from source to source
Data tabled in the Lok Sabha in January 2019 by the Labour and Employment Ministry revealed that 377 workers involved in the mining of coal, minerals and oil were killed in mining related accidents between 2015 and 2017. Of the 377, more than half, 210, were killed in coal mines. Pralhad Joshi, union minister of coal and mines informed the Rajya Sabha in February 2021 that 84 people died due to 254 serious accidents in coal mines between January 2019 and November 2020.
Deaths and fatal accidents inside mines can be caused due to variety of factors, such as leaking of dangerous gases like hydrogen sulphide or explosive natural gases, particularly firedamp or methane, dust explosions, collapsing of mine, mining-induced seismicity, flooding, or simple mechanical errors from misused or compromised mining equipment. According to a report, around 7,00,000 people are employed directly and indirectly in the mining sector, making it one of the largest industries in the country. According to several reports, the actual number of death of workers in mines is much higher as most of the deaths go unreported. Most of the unreported deaths occur in illegal mines or the rat-hole mines in the north-eastern states of India.
Maximum number of deaths related to mining accidents were reported in 2018. About 62 workers were killed due to mining related accidents in 2018. The year also reported 42 cases of mining accidents. The worst mining accident in 2018 was reported in Meghalaya in which in rat-hole coal mine as it collapsed due to flooding. Children are the most common victims of rat-hole mining as they are preferred due to their small body frame.
In February 2022, around 13 workers died in an illegal coal mine in Dhanbad, Jharkhand. The sealed coal mine was operated illegally and a large number of locals were indulged in the mining work. Ramanuj Prasad, former head of public relations at Bharat Coking Coal (BCC) had then said that no complaints are filed in such cases and the deaths go unreported.
The Chasnala coal mine disaster in Dhanbad was one of the worst mining disasters in India. The coal mine was flooded due to an explosion on December 27, 1975, killing 372 workers.
An activist from the Centre of Indian Trade Unions (CITU) said that “Little has been done to change the situation and inspections are neither regularised nor thorough. Funds are insufficient.” Nathulal Pandey and S Q Zama, presidents of two different coal unions said: “A shortage of manpower, high production targets, unplanned extraction of coal, underutilisation of safety budgets for the past three years, lack of safety equipment for all workers, and not following safety measures are the main reasons behind deaths of workers in the coal mines.
Despite, safety protocols and government policies and legislations on mining, the industry remains one of the most hazardous and unsafe industries in India. In order to put an end to the illegal mining in India, the Central government amended the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 in 2015. Under the amended act, the state government are also contributing in keeping a check on illegal mines in the country. But the data and the instances of illegal mining and deaths of the workers suggest that such measures are not enough to address the problem and ensure safety of workers.
