Coal mining has a human connect: only people who work in the dusty and hazardous mines or stay amid their polluted surroundings have a feel of it.
Talcher which is one of the oldest coal belt in India is of late restive as the workers as well as the residents have protested a current move of the Central Government to privatise and commercialise coal production in the Coal India limited (CIl), of which the Mahanadi Coalfield limited (MCl) operating in Talcher is one of the four subsidiaries.
There is palpable fear that after the private companies take over the reins of the coal mines, they would, in their mad pursuit for profit, neglect some prime issues that affect the day-to-day life of millions of people. For example, they would not take care of the environment and peripheral development and ignore the welfare of the workers.
labour exploitation and environment degradation are two most sensitive issues in Talcher and for that matter in all the areas where the four subsidiaries of CIl such as MCl, Northern Coalfields, Eastern Coalfields and Bharat Coking Coal are operating. The MCl in Talcher is not just a profit-making venture. It has immense contribution in the socio-economic and cultural growth of the region.
The company has spent crores of rupees for compensatory afforestation, dust control and raising and transportation of coal in a safe way. Though the steps taken by the Public Sector Unit (PSU) is not enough, yet they are crucial. It has set up one of the state-of-the-art hospitals for health check-up of the people not just the ones working in the company but all others. Besides, steps are afoot to convert it to a medical college.
Being a PSU, it is obvious that its social responsibility would be more than the private firms. While digging out over burden (OB) or ‘top soil’, the company takes a lot of precautions so that dust pollution is reduced to a minimum level. Similarly while excavating coal, it takes care of the safety of the area as well as of the workers employed. While the vehicles move to lift coal to the railway sidings, the MCl takes every care so that there is least pollution and no accident. It has prescribed limits for speed of the vehicles in different areas. For controlling dust emission, it sprinkles water on the road regularly.
Despite all safety and anti-pollution measures by the PSU, Talcher is today one among the most polluted areas in the world besides being one of the hazardous workplaces. There are allegations against MCl for lapses on the safety and pollution fronts. Yet, a Government owned the company that the MCl is it pays heed to the concerns of the locals and takes utmost care to solve their problems.
Rehabilitation of the people and job in the MCl is always goaded by controversy. Nevertheless, the company has done quite a lot pertaining to the issue. Despite corruptions, nepotism and political interference, many land losers have got jobs in the company. The issue is so complex that there has to have lapses but the MCl undeniably has brought cheers for hundreds of landoustees who are now getting handsome salary and several facilities. In the field of developing infrastructure, promoting education and culture of the area, the coal company has also done a commendable job.
The workers and the local people of the area are therefore opposing the privatization of the mining works. For, it is not that the MCl will be resorting to outsourcing for the first time as already a few private companies are already employed in different works, including OB operation. There is marked difference in the style of functioning of the private firms and the MCl. The horror of hire and fire, underpayment, overwork, safety lapses and other manners of exploitation of the labourers in the private firms has an impact here.
Besides, the private firms have least concern for the pollution of the area. All said and done, profiteering is the ultimate goal of a company, be it Government or private. The aggressive and at time inhuman approach is not found in the operation of the PSUs though.
Among the four subsidiaries of the CIl, MCl tops in all benchmarks like production, employment and profit. However, if we look at the expenses of the company on contractual works, the cost is on the rise over the years. It is also said that more are the contractual expenses, higher is the profit. While the MCl and Northern Coalfields are running with huge profit with little hassle, the Eastern Coalfields and Bharat Coking Coal operating in West Bengal and Jharkhand, despite having higher number of employees and operating costs, are producing less and consequently, their profit margins too have been less. The stronger trade unionism in WB and Jharkhand is attributed to less commercialization and privatization in the two subsidiaries.
The Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Bill already passed in the lok Sabha intends to expand private sector’s involvement in mining. The aim is to boost production so that coal deficit is not felt and all the firms dependent on coal as main raw material get enough. However, while allowing the private sectors to mine coal, the Government must be sympathetic enough to the local concerns.