National Conference on Silicosis
The National Human Rights Commission organized the third regional review meeting on the progress of the States on the issue of silicosis in New Delhi on the 14th February, 2012. The aim of these review meetings is to emphasize upon the urgency to address this problem which is causing a serious threat to the right to life.
The participating States included Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh Odisha and West Bengal. There were representatives from the Directorate General Factory Advice Services and Labour Institutes (DGFASLI), the Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS) and NGOs.
Chairing the meeting, Mr. P.C. Sharma, Member, NHRC said that no serious exercise had been done by most of the States to assess the dimensions of silicosis and what needed to be done to check this incurable disease of the lungs. Though there had been a perceptible change in the approach of the authorities in some States, he expressed concern that, except Chhattisgarh, no Chief Minister of the other participating States was informed by their concerned departments about the enormity of the problem and how so many workers and their families working in unorganized sectors were affected by the disease.
Mr. Sharma said that the NHRC was keen to know the results on the ground and not just the policies which are being framed and programmes which are in place and which needed a pragmatic review. He said that there appeared to be a nexus between the employers and the government machinery who in a denial mode continued to downplay the number of silicosis affected workers.
Mr. Sharma said that no State can claim that they had no cases of silicosis given the kind of all around developmental activities, construction and mining that was ongoing. Therefore, all States needed to conduct a survey of different industries and factories which are prone to causing silicosis and discharge their duties under the Mines Act, Factories Act and Labour Laws as already advised by the NHRC on a number of occasions.
Mr. Sharma said that the authorities were not maintaining proper coordination among themselves to act swiftly in matters of payment of compensation to a victim's family, and had instead passed the buck when cases of silicosis were reported to them by civil society. Appreciating the role of NGOs and civil society in this regard, he said that they should also try to bring these cases to the knowledge of appropriate authorities in States and also DGMS and DGFASLI for further expeditious action.
He said that good GDP is welcome but not at the cost of the right to health. The problem of lack of resources has to be solved by the States and they need to prioritize their policies. He said that States should create good working conditions; pay proper wages to the workers under Minimum Wages Act; hold their periodical medical check-ups and conduct surveys of silicosis-prone areas and industries.
The representative from Bihar said that after bifurcation of the State there were only a few industries left in the State which might generate silica. They have been trying to do a survey as all types of silica do not cause silicosis. But they had no laboratory in the State to carry out these tests and were also short of man-power. No diagnostic centre had the equipment to take X-rays as per ILO norms to identify silicosis cases. However, he still maintained that no silicosis cases had been reported.
The representative from Jharkhand said that the Health Secretary had appointed a four-member committee to look into the issues concerning occupational health hazards, but there was no specific action taken to monitor issues relating to silicosis.
The representative from Chhattisgarh said that the Chief Minister is apprised of the problem and a survey of industries had been done in the State and 661 hazardous factories were identified. 1559 workers were found to be exposed to the risk of silicosis. Emission of silica had been controlled; awareness camps had been organized, but the State faces problems of lack of experts to diagnose silicosis.
The representative from Odisha said that efforts are being made to use methods to keep workers' immune system strong; their children are not being allowed near the mining areas and stone-crushing units. But no data on cases of silicosis was available.
The representative from West Bengal said that a coordination committee of different concerned departments is proposed to be set up under the Chief Secretary to monitor issues relating to silicosis. There is a lack of awareness on the issue. The doctors are reluctant to visit rural belts and work in silicosis-prone areas. There is no specific data available on silicosis- affected workers.
The representatives of NGOs refuted claims of the authorities that there were no cases of silicosis in the respective States and said that despite being informed, the concerned local authorities neither take preventive measures nor pay monetary relief to the victims' families. They claimed that whenever they took up the issue of silicosis with the authorities, rumours were spread that the NGOs were working against the industries.
The representatives of DGMS said that in last ten years they received information on 131 confirmed cases of silicosis and impressed upon the authorities for payment of monetary relief to the victims' families. However, all these workers belonged only to the organized sector.
The representative of DGFASLI said that they are prepared to provide diagnostic facilities to the States but their experience has been that whenever they visited silicosis-prone areas for identification of the victims, very little cooperation was extended by the concerned authorities. Despite this, they had found a number of victims of silicosis in the unorganized sector.
NHRC officers Dr. Rajiv Sharma, Secretary General, Mr. J.S. Kochher, Joint Secretary (Trg.) Mr. C.K. Tyagi, Presenting Officer, Mrs. Mamta Singh, DIG, Dr. Savita Bhakhry, Deputy Secretary (Research) and Mr. Jaimini Kumar Srivastava, Information and Public Relations Officer were also present during the discussions.
The participating States included Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh Odisha and West Bengal. There were representatives from the Directorate General Factory Advice Services and Labour Institutes (DGFASLI), the Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS) and NGOs.
Chairing the meeting, Mr. P.C. Sharma, Member, NHRC said that no serious exercise had been done by most of the States to assess the dimensions of silicosis and what needed to be done to check this incurable disease of the lungs. Though there had been a perceptible change in the approach of the authorities in some States, he expressed concern that, except Chhattisgarh, no Chief Minister of the other participating States was informed by their concerned departments about the enormity of the problem and how so many workers and their families working in unorganized sectors were affected by the disease.
Mr. Sharma said that the NHRC was keen to know the results on the ground and not just the policies which are being framed and programmes which are in place and which needed a pragmatic review. He said that there appeared to be a nexus between the employers and the government machinery who in a denial mode continued to downplay the number of silicosis affected workers.
Mr. Sharma said that no State can claim that they had no cases of silicosis given the kind of all around developmental activities, construction and mining that was ongoing. Therefore, all States needed to conduct a survey of different industries and factories which are prone to causing silicosis and discharge their duties under the Mines Act, Factories Act and Labour Laws as already advised by the NHRC on a number of occasions.
Mr. Sharma said that the authorities were not maintaining proper coordination among themselves to act swiftly in matters of payment of compensation to a victim's family, and had instead passed the buck when cases of silicosis were reported to them by civil society. Appreciating the role of NGOs and civil society in this regard, he said that they should also try to bring these cases to the knowledge of appropriate authorities in States and also DGMS and DGFASLI for further expeditious action.
He said that good GDP is welcome but not at the cost of the right to health. The problem of lack of resources has to be solved by the States and they need to prioritize their policies. He said that States should create good working conditions; pay proper wages to the workers under Minimum Wages Act; hold their periodical medical check-ups and conduct surveys of silicosis-prone areas and industries.
The representative from Bihar said that after bifurcation of the State there were only a few industries left in the State which might generate silica. They have been trying to do a survey as all types of silica do not cause silicosis. But they had no laboratory in the State to carry out these tests and were also short of man-power. No diagnostic centre had the equipment to take X-rays as per ILO norms to identify silicosis cases. However, he still maintained that no silicosis cases had been reported.
The representative from Jharkhand said that the Health Secretary had appointed a four-member committee to look into the issues concerning occupational health hazards, but there was no specific action taken to monitor issues relating to silicosis.
The representative from Chhattisgarh said that the Chief Minister is apprised of the problem and a survey of industries had been done in the State and 661 hazardous factories were identified. 1559 workers were found to be exposed to the risk of silicosis. Emission of silica had been controlled; awareness camps had been organized, but the State faces problems of lack of experts to diagnose silicosis.
The representative from Odisha said that efforts are being made to use methods to keep workers' immune system strong; their children are not being allowed near the mining areas and stone-crushing units. But no data on cases of silicosis was available.
The representative from West Bengal said that a coordination committee of different concerned departments is proposed to be set up under the Chief Secretary to monitor issues relating to silicosis. There is a lack of awareness on the issue. The doctors are reluctant to visit rural belts and work in silicosis-prone areas. There is no specific data available on silicosis- affected workers.
The representatives of NGOs refuted claims of the authorities that there were no cases of silicosis in the respective States and said that despite being informed, the concerned local authorities neither take preventive measures nor pay monetary relief to the victims' families. They claimed that whenever they took up the issue of silicosis with the authorities, rumours were spread that the NGOs were working against the industries.
The representatives of DGMS said that in last ten years they received information on 131 confirmed cases of silicosis and impressed upon the authorities for payment of monetary relief to the victims' families. However, all these workers belonged only to the organized sector.
The representative of DGFASLI said that they are prepared to provide diagnostic facilities to the States but their experience has been that whenever they visited silicosis-prone areas for identification of the victims, very little cooperation was extended by the concerned authorities. Despite this, they had found a number of victims of silicosis in the unorganized sector.
NHRC officers Dr. Rajiv Sharma, Secretary General, Mr. J.S. Kochher, Joint Secretary (Trg.) Mr. C.K. Tyagi, Presenting Officer, Mrs. Mamta Singh, DIG, Dr. Savita Bhakhry, Deputy Secretary (Research) and Mr. Jaimini Kumar Srivastava, Information and Public Relations Officer were also present during the discussions.