The total number of persons engaged in coal/lignite companies under Ministry of Coal i.e., Coal India Limited (CIL), NLC India Limited (NLCIL) and Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) are as under:

All coal mines are governed by the Mines Act, 1952, Rules, regulations framed thereunder. Mines Act, 1952 is administered by the Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS) by way of development of suitable legislations, Rules, Regulations, standard and guidelines, inspections, investigation of accidents, awareness activities, formulating risk management plans.

Apart from compliance of the statutory provisions under the Mines Act, 1952, the Mines Rules- 1955, the Coal Mine Regulations- 2017 and Bye Laws & Standing Order framed there under the following steps are being taken to reduce occurrence of such accident in mines to provide adequate safety. Additionally, coal companies administer mines through following safety measures:

1. Preparation and implementation of Site Specific Risk Assessment based Safety Management Plans (SMPs), Principal Hazards Management Plans (PHMPs), Formulation and compliance of Site-specific Risk Assessment based Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).

2. Training on Mine Safety, Conducting Safety Audit of mines through multi-disciplinary Safety Audit teams as per guidelines issued by the Ministry of Coal in December 2023, adoption of the state-of-the art mechanism for Strata Management and Monitoring of mine environment.

3. Specific Safety measures for opencast (OC) mines and underground UG) coal mines such as

• Use of eco-friendly Surface Miners for blast free safe mining.
• Formulation and implementation of Mine-specific Traffic Rules.
• Training on Simulators to HEMM operators.
• Dumpers fitted with Proximity Warning Devices, Rear view mirrors and camera, Audio-Visual Alarm (AVA), Automatic Fire Detection & Suppression system etc.
• GPS based Operator Independent Truck Dispatch System (OITDS) and Geo-fencing in some large OCPs for tracking movement of HEMMs inside OC mine.
• Lighting arrangement using high mast towers for increasing level of illumination.
• Elimination of basket loading by introducing semi mechanized technology in UG mines.
• Replaced the cement capsules with resin capsules for effective roof control system with bolting by pneumatic /hydraulic roof bolting system.
• Wherever geology permits, Continuous Miner technology is adopted
• Emergency Response & Evacuation Plans (ER & EP) prepared as per Coal Mine Regulation 2017 etc.

4. Mine Safety Inspection: Round-the-clock Supervision of all mining operations by adequate number of competent and statutory Supervisors, mine Officials, regular Inspection by Workmen Inspectors, back shift mine Inspections by senior officials and regular mine Inspection by officials of the Internal Safety Organization.

Further, in coal companies under Ministry of Coal extensive healthcare services are provided to the coal mine workers in the country through a network of hospitals, dispensaries, and medical professionals.

Coal mine workers may develop Coal workers Pneumoconiosis, silicosis and breathing issues due to their prolonged exposure to airborne coal dust, but no case of Coal workers Pneumoconiosis and silicosis has been notified in the recent years in coal companies under Ministry of Coal with the existing control measures.

The following measures are taken for the prevention of various health issues due to prolonged exposure to coal dust and heat:

• Regular health check-ups and screenings are conducted for employees, especially those in high-risk mining roles, to monitor and prevent occupational diseases
• Pre-employment medical examination is done for all new recruits. Periodic Medical Examination (PME) for all the employees is conducted as per the Statutes laid in The Mines Rules, 1955.
• Annual PME of employees having age group 51-60 years in active mining work is in practice including pre-retirement PME (59-60 years) for superannuating employees.
• Chest X-Ray and sputum AFB for employees engaged in food handling and stemming material, Stool examination, Eye refraction test are done at periodic interval.
• Statutory health surveys for notifiable diseases and diseases of importance is conducted.
• Regular Campaigns and training sessions are being organised on Climate change impacts on health and preventive measures.

This information was given by Union Minister of Coal and Mines Shri G. Kishan Reddy in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.

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Shuhaib T

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