Silicosis Poilcy, 2019 Rajasthan :

1. Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot launched a policy to address the burden of silicosis in the state.Between three and ten million Indians are at risk of developing the disease, caused by the inhalation of dust containing silica. Inhalation of this dust over time can cause scarring and hardening of lung tissue, which is irreversible, and has also been linked to a heightened risk of developing lung cancer. 

2. Silicosis is one of the major health concerns for India’s mining communities, including in Rajasthan which is home to an estimated 22,000 silicosis patients. 

3. Among the provisions of the policy, silicosis patients and their families can avail a number of social security benefits such as pensions and health coverage. It also includes provisions for the creation of a safe working environment to lower the silicosis risk among miners. 

4. Rajasthan is the second state in the country after Haryana to issue silicosis policy. The policy provides that the state government will provide assistance of Rs 3 lakh for the rehabilitation of a person suffering from silicosis. On the death of the victim, the successor will be given two lakh rupees and ten thousand rupees for the funeral.

5. Silicosis sufferers will get the benefit of Chief Minister Special Qualified Public Pension. Under this, a pension of four thousand rupees per month will be given. On the death of the victim, his wife will get the benefit of widow pension and Palanhar pension scheme. Under the widow pension, Rs. 750 per month will be provided to the woman and under the Palanhar scheme, assistance will be provided for two thousand rupees per month when the children are up to 18 years. Provision has been made in the policy that free medical and ration materials will be made available to the family members of the victims of silicosis under the faith scheme. In free medicine everything from medicine to examination will be free.

6. Provision has been made in the policy that the owner will have to arrange for the soil to not overflow in the mine. Guidelines have been set for the installation of equipment to prevent dust. The state government will conduct awareness campaign to get rid of silicosis, so that workers can take preventive measures. As part of the policy, a campaign will be launched to provide skill development training to the victims and their dependents.

7. According to the information, there are more than 33 thousand mines in Rajasthan, in which a large number of laborers work. Dust flying during mines breaking stones and other construction work leads to a fatal disease like silicosis. According to statistics, more than 11 thousand people in the state suffer from silicosis. At the same time, 1600 people have died so far. Awareness camps will be organized in the state by calling experts from different regions of the country to avoid silicosis.

8. Earlier, the government’s responsibility was limited to providing grants to silicosis patients. Hence, under the new policy, the role of the government would be to prevent the disease by enforcing a certain kind of work environment at the construction, stone crushing and mining sites. This is a major shift in the emphasis of the government.

Problem of Silicosis in Rajasthan :

Rajasthan’s mining industry is far from the modernised operation one expects it to be. Rajasthan prides itself on its rich reserves of minerals, with mining being second to agriculture. As many as 42 major minerals and 23 minor ones are extracted in over 35,000 mines (Department of Mines and Geology, Rajasthan, 2015) that employ roughly 2.5 million workers.

Silicosis is a lung disease. It usually happens in jobs where you breathe in dust that contains silica. That's a tiny crystal found in sand, rock, or mineral ores like quartz. Over time, silica can build up in your lungs and breathing passages. This leads to scarring that makes it hard to breathe.

India has an enormous tuberculosis problem. According to the World Health Organisation, 2.79 million Indians contracted TB in 2017, nearly a quarter of all the cases in the world. Only 1.8 million cases were notified. Nearly a million cases are not notified, and inadequately diagnosed and treated.

Rajasthan has the highest number of the poorest mine workers – more than 1.65 families who work in its stone quarries and mines for casual wages. They are in the grip of a silicosis epidemic.

Develop TB and lung diseases :

Workers in mines and stone-crushing units inhale hazardous levels of silica, which corrodes lung tissue and reduces their immunity to bacterial infections like TB. Those infections can then spread to co-workers and family. Yet their employers deny any responsibility, and refuse to adopt even the simplest preventive measures.

Safety Issue :

Sandstone from Rajasthan is in great demand internationally, for cobbles and tiles. Bijolia, in Bhilwara, is one of the top sites of production. Despite the international markets, the work here is done with primitive technology. Stone is carved and processed manually, with hammers and chisels, and there is little safety oversight.

Marginal farmers and workers migrate to Bhilwara after Diwali every year to seek temporary work in the mines, and many described how they were losing weight, growing weaker and having trouble breathing. Mine workers have trouble even finding out if they have tuberculosis or silicosis – which they call “pathar ki bimaari”.