Lok Sabha Question No. 2408 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-07-08
Subject: Mine Accidents
Ministry: LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT
Asked by: Bidyut Baran Mahato, Sudheer Gupta, Meenakashi Lekhi

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT

## LOK SABHA

UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2408 TO BE ANSWERED ON 08.07.2019

## MINE ACCIDENTS

2408.  SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO: SHRI SUDHEER GUPTA:

SHRIMATI MEENAKASHI LEKHI:

Will the Minister of LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT be pleased to state:

- (a)the details of mining accidents reported during each of the last three years and  the  current  year  and  number  of  workers  who  lost  their  lives  in accidents;
- (b)whether  the  Government  has  provided  adequate  fire  safety  and  security systems to combat any such fire accidents and other dangers arising out in mines;
- (c)if  so,  the  details  thereof  including  the  safety  measures  taken  by  the Government for fire safety and security of various mines and mine workers in the country;
- (d)the  various  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  adhere  and  comply  with international  fire  safety  standards  in  the  mines  to  protect  mine  workers; and
- (e)the  status  of  fund  allocated,  disbursed  and  spent  on  security  of  mines during the said period?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (IC) FOR LABOUR AND EMPLOYMENT (SHRI SANTOSH KUMAR GANGWAR)

(a): As per information provided by mine management to the Directorate  General  of  Mines  Safety  (DGMS)  under  Ministry  of  Labour  and Employment,  the  details  of  the  number  of  mining  accidents  reported  and number  of  fatalities  during  the  last  three  years  and  the  current  year  is  as follows:

Contd..2/-

|                 | COAL             | COAL              | NON-COAL         | NON-COAL          | TOTAL            | TOTAL             |
|-----------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|-------------------|------------------|-------------------|
| Year            | No. of accidents | No. of fatalities | No. of accidents | No. of fatalities | No. of accidents | No. of fatalities |
| 2016            | 67               | 94                | 39               | 50                | 106              | 144               |
| 2017            | 56               | 61                | 46               | 68                | 102              | 129               |
| 2018            | 53               | 66                | 48               | 54                | 101              | 120               |
| 2019(till June) | 17               | 17                | 7                | 7                 | 24               | 24                |

(b) to (d): Government  has  made  provisions  to  deal  with  the  safety  issues pertaining to fire in coal, metalliferous and oil mines under regulations 134-142 of the Coal Mines Regulations, 2017, regulations 119-123 of the Metalliferous Mines Regulations, 1961 and regulations 97-101 of the Oil Mines Regulations, 2017 respectively. Compliance of the above provisions in mines by the mine owners/  management  is  checked  during  regular  inspections  carried  out  in mines by officers of DGMS.

In addition to the above provisions, following detail guidelines have been  issued  by  the  DGMS  for  addressing  the  hazards  through  risk  analysis based  'Safety  Management  System/Plan  (SMP)'  and  for  dealing  with  the emergency  situations  in  mines,  which,  among  others,  are  also  very  much relevant for the fire hazard:

- i. DGMS(Tech.)(S&T)  Circular  No.  13  of  2002  titled  'Safety  Management System - A guideline for implementation';
- ii. DGMS  (Tech)(S&T)  Circular  No.  02  of  2011  titled  'Safety  Management System - Provision for auditing and review';
- iii. DGMS (Tech)(S&T) Circular No. 5 of 2016, titled 'Integrated approach for development  of  Safety  Management  Plan  for  coal  and  metalliferous mines'; and
- iv. DGMS (Tech)(S&T) Circular No. 8 of 2016, titled 'Emergency Management Plan for Indian coal and metal mines'.

The  proactive  approach  of  'Safety  Management  System'  enables the mine management to address the site specific dangers by pinpointing the actual problem, which is in line with the present international practices. Also, the  concept  of  'Emergency  Preparedness  and  Response  Plan'  facilitates reduction in the response time to save life and property in case of emergency.

- (e): There is no specific scheme in the Ministry of Labour & Employment with regard to security of mines. The responsibilities of establishing  safety  and  security  systems  in  mines  lies  with  mine  owner/ management.

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