Labour Dept to adopt mechanism to prevent accidents in coal mines

SHILLONG: The State Government is working on a mechanism to stop the recurrent incidents of deaths in the coal mines in Meghalaya, Labour Minister Ampareen Lyngdoh informed on Monday.
Speaking to a group of journalists, Lyngdoh admitted that the district administrations and the police often find it difficult to identify the miners working in the coal quarries. To prevent such incidents in future, the Labour department is working out a mechanism to help in identification of labourers and their antecedents, she said.
She accused the mine owners of hiding the details of the labourers they employ in their quarries. The miners never reveal details of how and where they get the labour force, she said, adding that this is a cause for concern since the nationalities of a large number of coal labourers are questionable.
According to Lyngdoh, every mine owners has to declare his/ her asset and details of all excavation of the coal mines must be reported to the Government.
Lyngdoh admitted that one of the bottlenecks in proper monitoring of the safety standards of the coal mines in the State is the fact that the coal mines are private properties.
Lyngdoh pointed out that the Labour officers are continuously keeping a tab and conducting surprise raids in coal mines to ensure that the mine owners are following safety measures in the coal mines.
The Meghalaya Mines and Minerals Policy, 2012, states that adoption of modern methods of mining ‘would increase the safety of workers and reduce accidents’.
Under the Policy’s regulatory framework for mine development and mining, a person who seeks granting of mineral concession is required to submit a labour plan duty approved by the Labour department, which would include maintenance of health facilities and safety standards.
The policy also stipulates that the State Government would seek collaboration of the Directorate General of Mines Safety for safety in mines and mine owners will be required to ensure ‘stringent safety measures’ for workers, tracking of miners and utilization of technology to prevent accidents.
However, the Policy, which was approved last year, is yet to be implemented.
Incidents of mine mishaps are aplenty in Meghalaya where several lives have been lost inside the pitch-dark coal mines of Jaintia hills, West Khasi Hills and Garo Hills.
Coal is unscientifically mined in the three regions and in the current system of coal mining in these areas known as the rat-hole method, labourers go underground to extract coal with locally available equipment.