New Delhi: Minister of Coal, Mines and Parliamentary Affairs Pralhad Joshi on Wednesday launched a web portal for real-time reporting of accidents occurring in the coal mines. The portal has been developed by Coal India Limited (CIL) to facilitate accident investigation using root cause analysis techniques to ensure the elimination of causes of accidents. The portal will facilitate monitoring of actions to be taken by coal companies on the recommendations of various enquiries with a view to minimising such incidences.

Addressing the 47th meeting of the Standing Committee on Safety in Coal Mines, Joshi reiterated that safety is the top priority in the coal sector and advised all coal companies to ensure that there is no dearth of funds for ensuring safety measures. He complimented coal companies on the best ever performance in coal production this year despite challenges arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic and prolonged monsoon season in coalfields areas. Joshi mentioned that during the financial year 2021-22, India's coal sector had achieved a record production of 777.23 Million Ton (MT) compared to 716 MT in 2020-21 with 8.55 percent growth. At the same time, coal despatch has increased by 18.43 percent to 818.04 MT during fiscal 2021-22 against 690.71 MT in 2020-21.

Standing Committee is the highest tripartite committee at the national level to review the status of safety in coal mines and the adequacy of existing measures in a spirit of mutual cooperation and sharing of ideas and suggestions. The meeting was attended by representatives of central trade unions, officers from the Directorate General of Mines Safety and CMDs and CEOs of various coal companies in the public as well as private sectors.

In order to ensure better mining safety standards, Joshi suggested adopting State-of-Art Technology for ensuring safety in coal mines. He also suggested:

• Strengthening of Occupational Health Services Infrastructure and Monitoring mechanism to keep our employees safe and healthy.
• Capacity Building for imparting Training and Skill development amongst employees and PAFs.
• Improvement in Safety, Health and Basic Facilities of Contractor Workers deployed in PSU mines, Pvt Coal Mines as well as Hiring of Equipment (HOE) patches and mine developer & operator (MDO) patches.
• Enhance awareness and sensitivity amongst all stakeholders of the mine safety.

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