Lok Sabha Question No. 522 (STARRED), answered on 2018-04-04
Subject: Accidents in Coal Mines
Ministry: COAL
Asked by: Tejpratap Singh,Yadav, VISHNU DAYAL RAM

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF COAL LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 522

## TO BE ANSWERED ON 4 TH  APRIL, 2018

## Accidents in Coal Mines

## *522.  SHRI TEJ PRATAP SINGH YADAV: SHRI VISHNU DAYAL RAM:

Will the Minister of COAL be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government is aware about the accidents in coal mines and loss of human lives in  those  accidents  and  if  so,  the  details  thereof  during  the  last  five  years,  company-wise  and State-wise;
- (b) the details of compensation paid and the claims of the dependents of dead/ injured workmen pending  as  on  date  along  with  the  guidelines  issued  for  ensuring  security  of  workers  of  coal mines;
- (c) whether these guidelines are being reviewed regularly and if so, the details and the outcome thereof;
- (d)  whether  the  Government  has  any  scheme/policy/mechanism  for  providing  health  facilities and ensuring minimum wages to the coal mine workers and if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) whether the Government has conducted a meeting of the Standing Committee on Safety in Coal Mines and if so, the major recommendations of the committee and the steps taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COAL (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

(a)to(e): A statement is laid on the Table of the House.

## Statement referred to in reply to parts (a) to (e) in respect of Lok Sabha Question No. 522 for reply on 4 th April, 2018 asked by Shri Tej Pratap Singh Yadav and Shri Vishnu Dayal Ram, MP regarding  Accidents in Coal Mines.

(a): Yes Madam. The Government is aware about the accidents in coal mines and loss of human lives in those accidents. The details are attached in Annexure .

(b) & (c): The details of the amount of compensation paid to the next of the deceased employee in  case  of  fatal  accident  arising  out  of  and  in  the  course  of  employment  as  per  Employee's Compensation  Act  (ECA),  2010  in  CIL  and  compensation  paid  in  SCCL  as  per  the  Mines Compensation Act, 1923 in last five years are as under:

| Coal    | Amount of Compensation (in Rs.)   | Amount of Compensation (in Rs.)   | Amount of Compensation (in Rs.)   | Amount of Compensation (in Rs.)   | Amount of Compensation (in Rs.)   |              |
|---------|-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|-----------------------------------|--------------|
| Company | 2013                              | 2014                              | 2015                              | 2016                              | 2017                              | Total        |
| CIL     | 3,83,42,157                       | 2,93,61,228                       | 2,31,89,104                       | 4,26,63,880                       | 2,25,02,170                       | 15,60,58,539 |
| SCCL    | 73,62,684                         | 58,51,770                         | 47,99,360                         | 72,85,680                         | 68,75,680                         | 3,21,75,174  |

Total  seven  cases  are  pending  for  last  5  years  in  CIL  as  on  date,  where  compensation  as  per ECA, 2010 is yet to be paid. Out of these seven cases, four cases are sub-judice and legitimate process has been initiated for payment in another three cases.

Guidelines  have  been  issued  by  the  Government  for  ensuring  the  safety  in  coal  mines  of  the country. Safety, health and welfare of persons employed in the mines are dealt with under  the Mines Act, 1952, Rule and Regulations made thereunder.  Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS) under the Ministry of Labour and Employment, Government of India administers this Act for ensuring safety in the mines. Provisions of the Coal Mines Regulation, 2017 stipulate safety  and  security  in  the  coal  mines  across  the  country.  These  regulations  are  reviewed  from time to time based on inputs from various organizations. The last amendment was made in 2017.

(d): Various provisions exist in the Mines Act 1952, Rules & Regulations made thereunder in relation  to  occupational  health,  medical  examinations  and  occupational  diseases  of  persons employed in the coal mines.

Section 9A of the Mines Act, 1952 provides for Occupational health surveys at the mine, free medical treatment with full wages, alternate employment and compensation. As per Section 25 of  the  Act,  Mine  management  are  required  to  send  notice  of  diseases  notified  in  this  regard. Section 26 empowers Government is to direct investigation into occurrence of cases of disease.

Rule  29  of  Mines  Rules,  1955  deals  with  Initial  Medical  Examinations  at  the  time  of employment and Periodical Medical Examination of workers during service period.

If as a result of any medical examination under these rules or under the regulations, a person is found  to  have  contacted  any  disease  specified  in  part  C  of  schedule  III  to  the  Employee's

Compensation  Act,  1923,  the  provision  of  section  3  of  that  Act  shall  become  applicable  in respect of that person, and the compensation will be paid accordingly.

Mechanism to ensure payment of minimum wages to the coal workers (both permanent workmen and contractors workers) exists in CIL and SCCL. The permanent employees of coal companies are  paid  wages  as  per  provisions  of  Tenth  Wage  Agreement,  which  is  higher  than  Minimum wages notified by the Government. Payment of wages to all the employees is done through bank accounts only.

Contractors' workers engaged in specific Mining activities by Coal India Ltd are paid wages as per  recommendation  of  High  Power  Committee.  The  wages  paid  is  the  mid-way  between  the Minimum wages notified by Central Govt. from time-to-time as per Minimum Wages Act, 1948 for workers employed in scheduled employment in non-coal mines and the wages payable to the lowest category of permanent workers i.e. Cat-I of NCWA-IX (Basic + DA + SDA + Att. Bonus) as  on  01.11.2012  and  is  more  than  the  Minimum  wages  notified  by  Central  Govt.  as  per Minimum Wages Act, 1948.

Contractors' workers engaged in jobs other than mentioned above are paid minimum wages as notified  by  Ministry  of  Labour  &  Employment,  Govt.  of  India  for  the  workers  employed  in scheduled  employment  for  non-coal  Mines  as  per  Minimum  Wages  Act,  1948,  which  are displayed at conspicuous places in the office/ mine premises, as per statute.

(e): Yes Madam. The 42 nd meeting of the Standing Committee on Safety in Coal mines was held on 26 th February 2018 under the Chairmanship of Hon'ble Minister for Railways and Coal. The major recommendations are as under:

-  Creation of web-portal to exhibit the status of various medical facilities provided to the mine workers and related aspects.
-  Payment of additional Ex-gratia of Rs. 5 lakhs to the dependent of deceased contractual employees who die in mining accident while on duty only.
-  Geo-Technical Cell to be strengthened to cater to the need of large OCPs.
-  Utilization of Safety Budget - Prompt identification and procurement of safety items so that there is 100% utilization of fund in the next year 2018-19.
-  Man-riding system (MRS) should be installed in UG mines having long walking distance.
-  Statutory Manpower - Shortage of statutory persons to be filled-up on promotion from amongst the departmental eligible candidates on priority.
-  Strata  Control  Management  -  necessary  steps  should  be  taken  in  UG  mines  as  per provision made under Reg. 123 of CMR, 2017.
-  Light weight LED cap lamp - to be provided to replace the existing heavy weight cap lamp.

The  minutes  and  recommendations  of  this  meeting  has  been  circulated  to  all  mines  and concerned departments for implementation of the same.

Annexure Details of statewise & companywise fatal accidents in coal mines during the year 2013-2017

|   Year | State          | Owner                                    |   No. of Fatal Accidents |   Killed |
|--------|----------------|------------------------------------------|--------------------------|----------|
|   2013 | Andhra Pradesh | Singareni Collieries Company Ltd.        |                       10 |       11 |
|   2013 | Chhattisgarh   | M/S Jaiswal Neco Industries Ltd.         |                        1 |        1 |
|   2013 | Chhattisgarh   | M/S Jindal Steel and Power Ltd.          |                        1 |        1 |
|   2013 | Chhattisgarh   | South Eastern Coalfields Ltd.            |                        7 |        7 |
|   2013 | Gujarat        | Gujarat Industries Power Company Limited |                        1 |        1 |
|   2013 | Gujarat        | Gujarat Mineral Development Corpn. Ltd.  |                        2 |        2 |
|   2013 | Jharkhand      | Bharat Coking Coal Ltd.                  |                       10 |       13 |
|   2013 | Jharkhand      | Central Coalfields Ltd.                  |                        9 |        9 |
|   2013 | Jharkhand      | Eastern Coalfields Ltd.                  |                        0 |        0 |
|   2013 | Jharkhand      | Indian Iron &Steel Company Ltd.          |                        2 |        2 |
|   2013 | Jharkhand      | M/S Electrosteel Castings Limited        |                        1 |        1 |
|   2013 | Jharkhand      | Tata Iron &Steel Co. Ltd.                |                        2 |        2 |
|   2013 | Jammu &Kashmir | Jammu &Kashmir Minerals Ltd.             |                        1 |        1 |
|   2013 | Madhya Pradesh | Northern Coalfields Ltd.                 |                        2 |        2 |
|   2013 | Madhya Pradesh | South Eastern Coalfields Ltd.            |                        6 |        6 |
|   2013 | Madhya Pradesh | Western Coalfields Ltd.                  |                        2 |        3 |
|   2013 | Maharashtra    | Jindal Power Limited                     |                        0 |        0 |
|   2013 | Maharashtra    | Western Coalfields Ltd.                  |                        6 |        6 |
|   2013 | Odisha         | Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd.                 |                        1 |        1 |
|   2013 | Tamil Nadu     | Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd.         |                        0 |        0 |
|   2013 | Uttar Pradesh  | Northern Coalfields Ltd.                 |                        4 |        4 |
|   2013 | West Bengal    | Eastern Coalfields Ltd.                  |                        8 |        8 |
|   2013 | West Bengal    | M/s SOVA ISPAT LTD.                      |                        1 |        1 |
|   2014 | Andhra Pradesh | Singareni Collieries Company Ltd.        |                        4 |        5 |
|   2014 | Assam          | North Eastern Coalfields                 |                        0 |        0 |
|   2014 | Chhattisgarh   | Jindal Power Limited                     |                        0 |        0 |
|   2014 | Chhattisgarh   | M/S Prakash Industries Ltd.              |                        1 |        1 |
|   2014 | Chhattisgarh   | M/s Monnet Ispat &Energy Ltd.            |                        0 |        0 |
|   2014 | Chhattisgarh   | South Eastern Coalfields Ltd.            |                        7 |        7 |
|   2014 | Jharkhand      | Bharat Coking Coal Ltd.                  |                        8 |        8 |
|   2014 | Jharkhand      | Central Coalfields Ltd.                  |                        4 |        4 |
|   2014 | Jharkhand      | Eastern Coalfields Ltd.                  |                        2 |        2 |
|   2014 | Jharkhand      | Tata Iron &Steel Co. Ltd.                |                        1 |        1 |
|   2014 | Madhya Pradesh | Northern Coalfields Ltd.                 |                        3 |        3 |
|   2014 | Madhya Pradesh | South Eastern Coalfields Ltd.            |                        4 |        5 |
|   2014 | Madhya Pradesh | Western Coalfields Ltd.                  |                        1 |        1 |

|   Year | State          | Owner                                   |   No. of Fatal Accidents |   Killed |
|--------|----------------|-----------------------------------------|--------------------------|----------|
|   2014 | Maharashtra    | Western Coalfields Ltd.                 |                        8 |        9 |
|   2014 | Odisha         | Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd.                |                        1 |        1 |
|   2014 | Rajasthan      | M/S Barmer Lignite Mining Co. Ltd.      |                        2 |        2 |
|   2014 | Telangana      | Singareni Collieries Company Ltd.       |                        4 |        4 |
|   2014 | Tamil Nadu     | Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd.        |                        2 |        2 |
|   2014 | Uttar Pradesh  | Northern Coalfields Ltd.                |                        4 |        4 |
|   2014 | West Bengal    | Eastern Coalfields Ltd.                 |                        3 |        3 |
|   2015 | Chhattisgarh   | M/S HINDALCO INDUSTIES LTD.             |                        0 |        0 |
|   2015 | Chhattisgarh   | South Eastern Coalfields Ltd.           |                        8 |        8 |
|   2015 | Gujarat        | Gujarat Mineral Development Corpn. Ltd. |                        3 |        3 |
|   2015 | Jharkhand      | Bharat Coking Coal Ltd.                 |                        7 |        7 |
|   2015 | Jharkhand      | Central Coalfields Ltd.                 |                        3 |        3 |
|   2015 | Jharkhand      | Eastern Coalfields Ltd.                 |                        1 |        1 |
|   2015 | Jharkhand      | Tata Iron &Steel Co. Ltd.               |                        0 |        0 |
|   2015 | Madhya Pradesh | M/S PRISM CEMENT LIMITED                |                        1 |        1 |
|   2015 | Madhya Pradesh | M/S SASAN POWER LTD.                    |                        1 |        2 |
|   2015 | Madhya Pradesh | Northern Coalfields Ltd.                |                        1 |        1 |
|   2015 | Madhya Pradesh | South Eastern Coalfields Ltd.           |                        2 |        2 |
|   2015 | Madhya Pradesh | Western Coalfields Ltd.                 |                        2 |        2 |
|   2015 | Maharashtra    | Western Coalfields Ltd.                 |                        5 |        5 |
|   2015 | Odisha         | Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd.                |                        3 |        3 |
|   2015 | Rajasthan      | M/s V.S. Lignite Power Ltd.             |                        1 |        1 |
|   2015 | Telangana      | Singareni Collieries Company Ltd.       |                        7 |        7 |
|   2015 | Tamil Nadu     | Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd.        |                        1 |        1 |
|   2015 | West Bengal    | Eastern Coalfields Ltd.                 |                        7 |        7 |
|   2015 | West Bengal    | M/S SOVA ISPAT LTD.                     |                        1 |        1 |
|   2016 | Chhattisgarh   | South Eastern Coalfields Ltd.           |                        4 |        4 |
|   2016 | Gujarat        | Gujarat Mineral Development Corpn. Ltd. |                        0 |        0 |
|   2016 | Jharkhand      | Bharat Coking Coal Ltd.                 |                       12 |       13 |
|   2016 | Jharkhand      | Central Coalfields Ltd.                 |                        6 |        6 |
|   2016 | Jharkhand      | Eastern Coalfields Ltd.                 |                        2 |       24 |
|   2016 | Jharkhand      | Indian Iron &Steel Company Ltd.         |                        1 |        1 |
|   2016 | Jharkhand      | M/S Electrosteel Castings Limited       |                        0 |        0 |
|   2016 | Jharkhand      | Tata Iron &Steel Co. Ltd.               |                        2 |        2 |
|   2016 | Madhya Pradesh | Jaiprakash Associates Ltd.              |                        0 |        0 |
|   2016 | Madhya Pradesh | M/S SASAN POWER LTD.                    |                        1 |        1 |
|   2016 | Madhya Pradesh | Northern Coalfields Ltd.                |                        3 |        3 |
|   2016 | Madhya Pradesh | South Eastern Coalfields Ltd.           |                        6 |        7 |
|   2016 | Madhya Pradesh | Western Coalfields Ltd.                 |                        2 |        2 |

|   Year | State          | Owner                             |   No. of Fatal Accidents |   Killed |
|--------|----------------|-----------------------------------|--------------------------|----------|
|   2016 | Maharashtra    | Western Coalfields Ltd.           |                        3 |        3 |
|   2016 | Odisha         | Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd.          |                        2 |        2 |
|   2016 | Telangana      | Singareni Collieries Company Ltd. |                       12 |       14 |
|   2016 | Tamil Nadu     | Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd.  |                        2 |        2 |
|   2016 | Uttar Pradesh  | Northern Coalfields Ltd.          |                        1 |        1 |
|   2016 | West Bengal    | Eastern Coalfields Ltd.           |                        9 |       10 |
|   2016 | West Bengal    | Indian Iron &Steel Company Ltd.   |                        0 |        0 |
|   2017 | Chhattisgarh   | South Eastern Coalfields Ltd.     |                        7 |        7 |
|   2017 | Jharkhand      | Bharat Coking Coal Ltd.           |                        1 |        1 |
|   2017 | Jharkhand      | Central Coalfields Ltd.           |                        6 |        7 |
|   2017 | Jharkhand      | Eastern Coalfields Ltd.           |                        2 |        2 |
|   2017 | Jharkhand      | NTPC LTD.                         |                        1 |        1 |
|   2017 | Jharkhand      | Tata Iron &Steel Co. Ltd.         |                        0 |        0 |
|   2017 | Madhya Pradesh | M/S SASAN POWER LTD.              |                        0 |        0 |
|   2017 | Madhya Pradesh | Northern Coalfields Ltd.          |                        3 |        3 |
|   2017 | Madhya Pradesh | South Eastern Coalfields Ltd.     |                        1 |        3 |
|   2017 | Madhya Pradesh | Western Coalfields Ltd.           |                        3 |        3 |
|   2017 | Maharashtra    | Western Coalfields Ltd.           |                        3 |        4 |
|   2017 | Odisha         | Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd.          |                        5 |        5 |
|   2017 | Rajasthan      | V S LIGNITE POWER PVT. LTD.       |                        1 |        1 |
|   2017 | Telangana      | Singareni Collieries Company Ltd. |                       12 |       13 |
|   2017 | Tamil Nadu     | Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd.  |                        1 |        1 |
|   2017 | Uttar Pradesh  | Northern Coalfields Ltd.          |                        1 |        1 |
|   2017 | West Bengal    | Bharat Coking Coal Ltd.           |                        1 |        1 |
|   2017 | West Bengal    | Eastern Coalfields Ltd.           |                        7 |        7 |

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