India: Commission demands payment for silicosis victims

The National Human Rights Commission has taken the Gujarat Government to task for its failure to pay compensation to the families of 238 people who died of an incurable lung disease – silicosis – contracted while working in quartz crushing factories in the state.

The Khaleej Times reports that the commission has given the Government six weeks’ time to implement its recommendations.

The Commission has ordered that Rs.100,000 be given immediately to the families of the victims and the remaining Rs 200,000 be kept in a fixed deposit in a bank, with the interest accrued to be paid to the families on a monthly basis.

The silicosis victims — most of whom were tribal peoples from Alirajpur and Jhabua districts in Madhya Pradesh— contracted the disease while working in mineral units in Kheda and Panchmahals in central Gujarat.

The Gujarat Government has argued that the affected families could be compensated under the provisions of ESI Act, 1948 and the Workmen’s Compensation Act,1923.

However, the Commission has said that any benefits under these two laws would be in addition to the compensation it has recommended.

In a statement on its website, the Commission says it is “expecting that the Government of Gujarat will take a cue from the Governments of Rajasthan, Puducherry and Madhya Pradesh on dealing with the issues of relief, rehabilitation and health of silicosis patients and its victims with a more humane approach.”

Date: 9 July 2011