PANAJI: The directorate of mines and geology has clearly instructed the mining companies that in the current financial year, not even a single death relating to mining transportation will be tolerated and punitive action will be taken, if any accidental death takes place during transportation of ore.
Director of mines and geology Prasanna Acharya held a meeting with major leaseholders last week to discuss the production of ore and transportation details of financial year 2017-18. Representatives of eight mining companies were present at the meeting.
The director stressed on the need for zero tolerance to accidents and accidental deaths during mining transportation and told the leaseholders that the principle of extension of time and space shall be applicable to the leaseholders whose duty towards the society shall not be confined to the leasehold areas but shall extend outside the leasehold area till the ore is transported to jetty.
All the representatives present were categorically told by the director that there will be reduction in quota allotted to any leaseholder by one lakh tonnes, if any accidental death occurs during transportation of ore including an empty truck plying for ore extracted from such leasehold area.
It was also decided that in case of any eventuality, the said leaseholder should deposit a sum of Rs 10 lakh with the directorate of mines and geology in case of an accidental death, within two working days of such an accidental death or Rs 5 lakh in case of serious injuries and a sum of upto Rs 1 lakh in case of simple hurt due to an accident caused during such transportation. The money is to be paid to the victim or the victim’s family as an ex-gratia relief irrespective of the fault of either party.
In case of an accident while transporting ore, the compensation will initially have to be paid by the concerned leaseholder and later on the director of mines would hear the matter as to who was responsible – trader, transport contractor, vehicle owner or driver. The decision of the director of mines will be final in this regard.
Acharya also emphasised on the need for an efficient and scientific mining to be undertaken and said that no illegal exploitation of minerals should be done for achieving the target. Maximum measures are also to be adopted for curbing dust pollution while transporting mined mineral.
The director of mines also told the leaseholders’ representatives that there shall be incentives and disincentives for reporting irregularities and illegalities of other leaseholders. He said that if a leaseholder reports the illegalities of other leaseholder, the person reporting shall be rewarded, whereas the leaseholder against whom such reporting is done, and if found to be correct, shall lose quantity allotted to him. He assured that confidentiality will be maintained with regard to the informer as decided by the directorate.
The director also briefly explained the road map of mineral production in Goa for the year 2017-18 and requested cooperation from the mining industry for achieving the targeted production subject to enhancement by the Supreme Court.
He also informed that the apex court is considering enhancement of production limit in Goa which is also recommended by the expert committee appointed by the court. Hence it is the duty of the department and the industry to equitably distribute the production in eight months of the financial year as mining activities are not carried out during the monsoon season from June to September, he said.
In view of the above, the director has set a target of 8 million tonnes of production before commencement of the monsoon season and asked the leaseholders’ representatives to provide details of the quantity they are able to produce so that the targeted production can be achieved before the end of the season, that is May 2017. Accordingly, various representatives have expressed their ability and willingness to produce the targeted quantity during these two months.