Failing to implement its order, Gujarat govt may "withdraw" GR to pay compensation to silicosis victims

An agate worker

After failing to implement its own government resolution (GR) on paying Rs 1 lakh as compensation to those who die because of silicosis, a deadly lungs disease which is common among agate polishing units in Khambhat town and taluka of Gujarat, the Gujarat government is now planning a new one to "amend" its error, which allowed insurance companies to cover only those under group insurance scheme who die in an accident. While nobody in the government has any idea of what this new GR would be and whether it would be able remove the "technical hitch" which supposedly is the chief reason why the year-old GR could not be put into action, voluntary organisations working with the silicosis victims believe, the year was "lost" because of official indifference.

Jagdish Patel of the People's Training and Research Centre (PTRC), Vadadara, which campaigns for the cause of agate workers as well as those who suffer from other occupational health diseases, says, "The initial happiness over the possibility that the agate workers would get the compensation faded very quickly. When the GR was out, we were glad that finally the government had recognised silicosis as a deadly disease whose victims must be compensated. We even represented to government officials to raise the compensation amount to Rs 3 lakh. We also wanted to ensure that the GR was implemented with effect from June 25, 2007, as promised in it. We simultaneously stressed on setting up facilities which would ensure silicosis disease doesn't grip workers."

However, Patel, whose PTRC has been campaigning for the cause of agate workers for the last two decades, regrets, soon found out that his efforts had come to a nought. "We first approached the rural labour commissioner to get the forms for compensation, as we were told that we would get it there. However, on reaching there we found out that the rural labour commissionerate may have been made in charge of the whole compensation process, but it has taken objection to it on several counts.We verified this from the labour secretary's office in Sachivalaya, Gandhinagar, but were told the matter would be resolved soon", Patel wrote in PTRC's mouthpiece "Salamati".

In the meantime, PTRC volunteers showed the GR to former labour minister veteran socialist Sanat Mehta, who on reading it said it was "bogus". Mehta gave following reasons for it: First, it was insurance based. Secondly, if there was insurance then there had to a premium, too. However, the GR made no mention of the premium, hence it was not implementable. The volunteers were also told that even if the government decided to pay the premium, the insurance company would be unwilling to pay, coming up with some explanation or the other. There had been cases when group insurance schemes were floated but nobody got any compensation. Often, huge bribe is demanded in case someone tries to apply for it.

Following the May 2012 GR, several agate workers, suffering from silicosis, died. The PTRC approached the families of the victims, and collected necessary documents in order to get the compensation. "Thereafter, we went to the labour office of Khambhat to get necessary forms to fill them up and send them for as claims for compensation. We were told that the form would be available not in Khambhat but another town, Anand. We went to Anand, and there the official told us that the GR is not clear about how to pay compensation. The official showed us al communique which allegedly clarified what he wanted to say", Patel said.

This official communique, written on July 7, 2012, had been written by member-secretary, Gujarat Rural Labour Welfare Board. Addressed to joint secretary, state labour and employment department, the communique, referring to another GR dated June 25, 2007, said that group insurance scheme for compensation against death could be paid only if there was accidental death. "Natural death as a result of a disease or suicide is not covered under it. This, we were told had been clarified from the insurance company as well, it was clarified", Patel said.

All of it prompted Patel to write a letter to the state labour secretary on January 1, 2013, which said, to quote Patel, "it is most unfortunate that the Gujarat government prepares its GRs without doing any homework. This raises questions about working of the government. There cannot be a much bigger example of this than the way the government has shown indifference towards health care of the working people. We had widely propagated your GR of May 2012, stating that compensation would be paid against silicosis death victims. It is natural that the families of those who died had some expectations. You may please tell them what they should do now."

When approached Patel about the latest position, this is what he told Counterview, "I talked to the senior secretary in labour department and they told me that they are in the process of publishing a new resolution. Since the resolution in place is not implementable, not a single victim has been paid any relief amount as decided by the Gujarat government."

Comments

When Pakistanis whispered: ‘end military rule’ — A Moscow memoir

During the recent anti-terror operation inside Pakistan by the Government of India, called Operation Sindoor — a name some feminists consider patently patriarchal, even though it’s officially described as a tribute to the wives of the 26 husbands killed in the terrorist strike — I was reminded of my Moscow stint, which lasted for seven long years, from 1986 to 1993.

Ahmedabad's civic chaos: Drainage woes, waterlogging, and the illusion of Olympic dreams

In response to my blog on overflowing gutter lines at several spots in Ahmedabad's Vejalpur, a heavily populated area, a close acquaintance informed me that it's not just the middle-class housing societies that are affected by the nuisance. Preeti Das, who lives in a posh locality in what is fashionably called the SoBo area, tells me, "Things are worse in our society, Applewood."

Tracking a lost link: Soviet-era legacy of Gujarati translator Atul Sawani

The other day, I received a message from a well-known activist, Raju Dipti, who runs an NGO called Jeevan Teerth in Koba village, near Gujarat’s capital, Gandhinagar. He was seeking the contact information of Atul Sawani, a translator of Russian books—mainly political and economic—into Gujarati for Progress Publishers during the Soviet era. He wanted to collect and hand over scanned soft copies, or if possible, hard copies, of Soviet books translated into Gujarati to Arvind Gupta, who currently lives in Pune and is undertaking the herculean task of collecting and making public soft copies of Soviet books that are no longer available in the market, both in English and Indian languages.

RP Gupta a scapegoat to help Govt of India manage fallout of Adani case in US court?

RP Gupta, a retired 1987-batch IAS officer from the Gujarat cadre, has found himself at the center of a growing controversy. During my tenure as the Times of India correspondent in Gandhinagar (1997–2012), I often interacted with him. He struck me as a straightforward officer, though I never quite understood why he was never appointed to what are supposed to be top-tier departments like industries, energy and petrochemicals, finance, or revenue.

Environmental report raises alarm: Sabarmati one of four rivers with nonylphenol contamination

A new report by Toxics Link , an Indian environmental research and advocacy organisation based in New Delhi, in collaboration with the Environmental Defense Fund , a global non-profit headquartered in New York, has raised the alarm that Sabarmati is one of five rivers across India found to contain unacceptable levels of nonylphenol (NP), a chemical linked to "exposure to carcinogenic outcomes, including prostate cancer in men and breast cancer in women."

PharmEasy: The only online medical store which revises prices upwards after confirming the order

For senior citizens — especially those without a family support system — ordering medicines online can be a great relief. Shruti and I have been doing this for the last couple of years, and with considerable success. We upload a prescription, receive a verification call from a doctor, and within two or three days, the medicines are delivered to our doorstep.

A conman, a demolition man: How 'prominent' scribes are defending Pritish Nandy

How to defend Pritish Nandy? That’s the big question some of his so-called fans seem to ponder, especially amidst sharp criticism of his alleged insensitivity during his journalistic career. One such incident involved the theft and publication of the birth certificate of Masaba Gupta, daughter of actor Neena Gupta, in the Illustrated Weekly of India, which Nandy was editing at the time. He reportedly did this to uncover the identity of Masaba’s father.

Revisiting Gijubhai: Pioneer of child-centric education and the caste debate

It was Krishna Kumar, the well-known educationist, who I believe first introduced me to the name — Gijubhai Badheka (1885–1939). Hailing from Bhavnagar, known as the cultural capital of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat, Gijubhai, Kumar told me during my student days, made significant contributions to the field of pedagogy — something that hasn't received much attention from India's education mandarins. At that time, Kumar was my tutorial teacher at Kirorimal College, Delhi University.

A sector under siege? War and real estate: Navigating uncertainty in India's expanding market

I was a little surprised when I received an email alert from a top real estate consultant, Anarock Group , titled "Exploring War’s Effects on Indian Real Estate—When Conflict Meets Concrete," authored by its regional director and head of research, Dr. Prashant Thakur. I had thought that the business would wholeheartedly support what is considered a strong response to the dastardly terrorist attack in Pahalgam, Operation Sindoor.

Search This Blog