Coal Ministry raises ex-gratia for fatal coal mine accidents by 300%

Talcher: Union Coal and Mines Minister Pralhad Joshi on Thursday announced 300 per cent hike in ex-gratia amount for fatal coal mines accidents from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 15 lakh.

The welfare measure will cover over 3.5 lakh families of miners working under Coal India and its subsidiaries in eight states of the country.

“I announce enhancement in ex-gratia from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 15 lakh for the coal workers, both permanent as well as the contractors, in case of fatal mine accident,” said Joshi.

After undertaking aerial survey and inspection of mining operations of Talcher Coalfields in Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL), the Minister addressed the villagers and coal miners after laying foundation stone of MCL DAV School in Talcher coalfields.

Joshi said the government of India is committed to uplift the standard of living of common man and it is steadily working to create more jobs and entrepreneurship opportunities for the youths.

He also announced that Mahanadi Coalfields, which has given over 16,000 permanent jobs in lieu of land since its inception, will offer employment to more than 4,000 land oustees in Odisha by the financial year 2024-25.

In Odisha, the Minister further announced, “Mahanadi Coalfields will invest more than Rs 9,000 crores in years to come for creation of railway infrastructure enabling seamless transportation of coal from across MCL mines.”

This would include modernisation of Jharsuguda railway station, doubling of Saradega-Barpali-Jharsuguda railway line, construction of double-leg flyover, besides construction of 204 kms-long rail network in Talcher under two phases of construction.

Chairman Coal India A.K. Jha and CMD MCL B.N. Shukla were also present on the occasion along with other dignitaries.

MCL, which had produced record 144 million tonnes of coal in the last financial year 2018-19, is the second biggest subsidiary of Coal India and contributes about 25 per cent to its total coal production.

In the current fiscal, MCL has to produce 160 million tonnes of coal out of 660 million tonnes of Coal India’s target.

(IANS)