New Delhi: According to a report by the Union Minister of Coal and Mines, G. Kishan Reddy, the country’s coal production capacity hit the highest ever in the year 2023-24. The production of coal in the country was 997.828 million tonnes (MT) provisional, a PIB press release stated.
In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, the Minister said that all steps are being taken to reduce accidents in mines. To this, the department is prepared to prepare and implement risk assessment based safety management plans (SMPs). This will include the preparation and implementation of principal hazards management plans (PHMPs).
Under the guidance of the Mines (1952) Act, the department will conduct safety audit of mines through multi-disciplinary safety audit teams. The department is also taking steps to implement a state-of-the-art mechanism for strata management.
To provide proper safety conditions in coal mines, the department is also considering the adoption of eco-friendly surface miners for blast-free safe mining. This is in addition to the preparation and implementation of mine-specific traffic rules. The department is also planning to train on simulators to HEMM operators. In the coming year, the department will also establish a database of mine safety records.