Government examining proposal to enhance penalty for violating mines act

The government proposes to enhance penalty for violating various provisions of the Mines Act,1952. Addressing the Parliamentary Consultative Committee meeting attached to his Ministry here last evening, the Minister for Labour and Employment (Independent Charge), Shri Oscar Fernandes said that the proposal is under examination so that any "contravention of the law is prohibitive". He said that efforts are also on for designated courts to deal with cases exclusively under the Mines Act. Shri Fernandes said that overall improvement of safety in mines calls for updating the legislative provisions and suitable strengthening of the enforcement machinery.

Welcoming the reduction in the average number of fatal accidents per year, the Labour Minister said that such accidents have come down in coal mines from 223 to 89 and in non-coal mines from 64 to 51 since 1951-60 to 2000-06. He said that similarly the number of fatalities per year have also been reduced from 295 to 112 in coal mines and from 81 to 64 in non-coal mines during the same period. Shri Fernandes said that the rates of accidents in terms of fatalities per thousand persons employed basis are comparable with advanced countries like USA and Australia. However, the scale of mechanization in the Indian mines, particularly in the underground mines is abysmally low as compared to advanced countries "which may be the cause of the high figures of fatality in absolute terms in Indian mines".

Participating in the meeting the Members of Parliament said that safety in mines is very important. They particularly referred to lack of safety measures in the Construction and Building sector which has seen a spurt in recent years. They were told that there is a dearth of qualified safety officers in the construction sector and efforts are on in consultation with state governments to create adequate trained manpower. Some MPs expressed concern over the way blasting is done in quarries in hills endangering workers and neighbourhood habitations.

The Members of Parliament who participated in the meeting included Shri Gurudas Das Gupta, Shri P. Rajendran, Shri Balihari, Shri Rajnarayan, Shri Dawa Narbula and Shri Narayan Singh Kesri. The Labour & Employment Secretary, Shrimati Sudha Pillai and other senior officials of the Ministry also participated in the meeting.

Source : Press Information Bureau

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