Question : Fire Accidents in Coal Mines

(a) whether the Government’s attention is drawn to repeated fire accidents in various coal mines;
(b) if so, the number of fire accidents that occurred in various coal mines in the country particularly Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Jharkhand along with the loss of life and property caused during each of the last five years and the current year, company and State-wise;
(c) the reasons for repeated fire accidents;
(d) whether the Government has conducted any investigation in this regard and if so, the details thereof along with the action taken by the Government against the guilty persons, company-wise till date;
(e) the funds allocated and spent for ensuring the safety and security of workers in these coal mines during the said period, company-wise along with the funds released to compensate the victim of accidents during the last three years, company-wise; and
(f) the steps taken by the Government to check the recurrence of such accidents in future?

MINISTER OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS, COAL AND MINES
(SHRI PRALHAD JOSHI)

(a) & (b): There was no repeated fire accidents occurred in mines of CIL and its subsidiaries and Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL) during the last five years. However, there were some fire accidents that occurred in the mines of NCL and BCCL in last five years and current year.
Company-wise and state-wise the number of fire accidents that occurred in various coal mines in last five years are as under.
Company Date of fire accident Mine State
ECL, CCL, WCL, SECL, MCL, SCCL No fire accidents causing loss of life and property due to fire accidents.
BCCL 19.08.2015 Rajapur OCP Jharkhand
NCL 02.06.2016 Khadia OCP UP
05.05.2018 Dudhichua OCP MP

(c): The reasons of fire accidents as mentioned in reply (b) are as under:
Company Date of fire accident Mine State Reasons of fire Loss of life & properties
BCCL 19.08.2015 Rajapur OCP Jharkhand One shovel operator got burn injury while handling fiery coal seam 1 fatality
NCL 02.06.2016 Khadia OCP UP While removing airlock from diesel circuit got burn injuries in diesel tank of tipper. 1 fatality
05.05.2018 Dudhichua OCP MP Sustained burn injuries due to accidental bursting of oxygen cylinder at CHP. 1 fatality

(d): Investigations done in this regard is mentioned below:
BCCL: Investigation was done by ISO and recommended for strict compliance with SOPs for dealing fire. Further, following action was taken by BCCL against the persons held responsible for the above fire accident.
i. Sri S.M. Aslam, Mgr (Exv.) - warning letter issued.
ii. Sri J.K. Mishra, Sr. Mgr (Min.) - warning letter issued.
iii. Sri Hari Shankar Nonia, Foreman Incharge (Elec.) – warning letter issued.
iv. Sri Suresh Kumar Munda, Sr. Mech (Maintenance) - warning letter issued.
NCL: The enquiry has been conducted by Internal Safety Organization (ISO) and DGMS officials. The details are provided below:
SN Particulars Findings Recommendations Action taken person held responsible
1 Fatal accident of Sri Md. Firoz Ansari dated 02.06.2016 Wrong practice of using wiper motor pump with battery of tipper (1) Framing and implementation of SOP of all activities of outsourcing works.
(2) Conducting Safety talks for increasing awareness of safe practices among workmen. • Demotion to lower post – 2 persons
• Imposition of Censure – 1 person
2. Fatal accident of Sri Lalman Gupta, Dated 05.05.2018 Bursting of oxygen cylinder due to run over of dozer on the cylinder. (1) Proper housekeeping.
(2) Work to be carried out under constant supervision of a competent supervisor.
(3) Proper communication of work to the workmen. • One increment stopped – 3 persons
• Memo issued – 1 person


(e): As informed by coal companies, funds allocated and spent for ensuring the safety and security of workers in these coal mines company wise during last 3 years is as follows:


(All figures in lakh rupees)
Company Year 2016-17 Year 2017-18 Year 2018-19
Funds allocated Utilized Funds allocated Utilized Funds allocated Utilized
ECL 22304 18078 22605 17092 20214 13933
BCCL 23474 18628 21929 18016 19478 9219
CCL 2250 1924 2700 2141 1764 146
NCL 6632 5780 9795 9565 11300 2538
WCL 10891 10511 9000 9065 8400 5848
SECL 21500 19271 19751 17735 18100 14523
MCL 6095 6015 6649 6415 6774 5326
SCCL
(capital) 1069 145 1365 1133 961 1034

Funds released for compensation of the said fire accidents are as under:
BCCL: Compensation of Rs 639200 was paid to the next of kin of victim of Rajapur OC accident.
NCL: Compensation details:

Project Date of Accident Name of Deceased Compensation
Khadia (UP) 02.06.2016 Sri Md. Firoz Ansari, Cont. worker Rs. 8,67,640
Dudhichua (UP 05.05.2018 Sri Lalman Gupta, Fitter (Cat-VI) Rs. 4,98,800

(f): The following steps are taken to prevent fire accident in mines:
• Compliance of statutory provisions.
• Preparation and Implementation of SMPs (Safety Management Plans)
• Precautionary measures are being taken to plan extraction of panels within incubation period, sectionalization of old workings, inert gas flushing, pressure balancing etc.
• Safety audit of the mines are being conducted.
• Apparatus for detecting of fire/ symptom of fire are provided in all underground mines.
• Preparation and implementation of Principal Hazards Management Plans (PHMPs) along with Trigger Action Response Plan (TARP).

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