RAJASTHAN IS BECOMING THE EPICENTRE FOR OCCUPATIONAL DISEASES
to the central government labour department. There is no coordination between the centre and the state.”
The Rajasthan Mineral Policy 2017 does mandate that the mine or quarry licencee should maintain and keep ready for inspection, a daily attendance register and address of labours employed in the quarry, but that is seldom done, says Sengupta. “In most cases, mine owners end up registering names of their managers and kith and kin as mine workers to fulfill mandatory obligations.”
Miners cite their own reasons for their inability to maintain employment records. Jeevraj Meghwal, a mine owner in Jodhpur district, says that it is impossible for any mine owner to authenticate if the worker has worked in a mine and for how long. “They are casual labourers, working for a couple of days from mine to mine, some work on hourly or task basis. Some migrate from one area to another.” While Meghwal claims that he maintains a record of the workers, he says that earlier the records and pattas were kuchcha and a worker usually starts developing the disease after 10 years of work.
Lack of attendance records comes to the rescue of mine owners in many a ways. MK Devarajan, former Member of Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission, who worked extensively for the mine workers, explains, “The affected persons and kin of the deceased are theoretically also entitled to approach the Labour Court and seek compensation from their employer under the Workmen’s Compensation Act. However, not a single case has been filed in the State so far. Mine owners do not keep employment records and daily attendance, and enforcement authorities do not bother.”
Observers say it is humanly not possible for the central labour department officers to monitor mine workers. “The officers have the responsibility of labour in all central government establishments operating in a state. Also, one labour enforcement officer is in charge of four districts, which in Rajasthan would translate to approximately two lakh mine workers! Besides, there is no verifiable data between the names of the labourer in the register and those who are actually employed,” says Sengupta.
Ironically, the District Mineral Foundation Trust (DMFT) fund meant for the welfare of mining communities is lying unutilised. Sanjay Dubey, from the Department of Mines and Geology, Udaipur, confirmed that as of May 31, 2017, DMFT had ~835 crore and the department was weighing various projects.
Devarajan says the Mine Department is interested only in revenue maximisation and politicians patronise the mine owners because of their paying capacity. “The dichotomy of responsibilities enables both the central and state government authorities to maintain that the responsibility lies with the other and get away with inaction. This passing the buck game has been played several times,” he says.
As the centre and the state keep passing the buck, everyone, from the administration to the mine owners shirk their responsibilities.
And mine workers remain on the periphery, despite being the backbone of a growing industry. “Mining accounts for 6-8% of the country’s GDP, is the second highest employer after agriculture and in almost all the 11 mining intensive states the situation of informal mineworkers is the same,” says Basu.
And that is evident. In Bhat Basti, a miner settlement in Jodhpur, only two children go to school. Child marriage is the norm. The basti has no electricity, water or community toilet, but the adults have a voter ID card, clearly indicating their importance as a vote bank. While a school or medical centre are nowhere in the vicinity of miner settlement, there are plenty of liquor shops.