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THE CENTRE'S PROPOSAL to set up a coal safety fund is welcome. Coal companies do earmark a portion of their investments for schemes to improve safety in operations. The amount depends on the funds that companies can muster for development and when the going is tight, safety is the head of expenditure where allocation is first pruned. While there is greater awareness among the top brass about the need to tone up mine safety aspects, the absence of a dedicated source of funding has proved a hindrance. True, the number of accidents, fatal and serious, has come down over the years, from 177 in 1975 to below 80 in 2000 and the rate of fatality and serious injury per tonne of coal produced has dropped in the same period from 2.62 to 0.37 for the former and from 17.03 to 1.64 for the latter. But these figures also underscore that a lot remains to be done, as the aim should be to reach zero-accident levels.

Mining is one of the most hazardous of industries. The strategies adopted for rapid expansion of mining activity — increased mechanisation, adoption of new technologies and assimilation of the latest scientific innovations — have brought in their wake increased hazard potential, warranting stronger vigilance. With operational complexities multiplying despite technological and managerial innovations, management of safety in mining has to be a structured process that lays adequate stress on prescribing the right standards and their effective implementation. This will be possible when coal companies have internal safety structures and they function in close coordination with the Directorate General of Mines Safety. While as a matter of routine safety audit has to be conducted in each mine regularly, this is followed more in the breach. As a result, often even fire-prone and gassy mines, for which inspection norms have to be tighter, are not taken up for safety audit. Also, every mine has to be examined before the onset of monsoon to assess the danger of inundation from both surface and underground water sources. Mine managements will be better placed to discharge their responsibilities if they have funds right from the beginning of a financial year. This is because even if allocated, there is often delay in the release of funds to the ground level of management.

Hopefully, the proposed coal safety cess will help build up a corpus that will enable the management defray all safety-related expenditure from out of the proceeds. This fund can also be used to import safety equipment not available indigenously. A comprehensive safety programme that includes specific plans to reduce accidents in underground and opencast mines and provides for training of personnel in rescue operations and handling of safety equipment brooks no delay.

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