Include all workers exposed to silica dust in anti-TB programme: Govt of India told

Counterview Desk
In a letter, sponsored by well-known civil rights organization, Occupational & Environmental Health Network of India and signed by more than 60 professionals and activists*, Dr Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India, has been told that Indian policy makers shouldn't just acknowledge higher TB risk to mine and stone crusher workers, but also “other silica-exposed workers”.
The letter insists, “Silica-dust exposures among miners, building and construction, stone cutting/crushers, pottery, steel and allied factory, ceramic, thermal power and other workers increases the risk of active TB by three to four times”, adding, “The combination of silicosis and HIV further increases the risk of acquiring active TB by 15 times.”
It says, against this backdrop, it is time the Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) should “recognize and prioritize all silica-exposed workers for screening and treatment services”, and not just those that have been listed.

Text:

We are contacting you in regards to the National Strategic Plan for Tuberculosis (TB) Elimination (2017–2025) and associated policies being implemented by Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP) in regards to targeted screening and interventions. We are a concerned group of health professionals and NGOs working to increase awareness of the opportunities to prevent TB with silica dust controls in the workplace.
For more than one hundred years, silica dust has been linked to higher TB prevalence rates among workers in dusty occupations. Multiple studies from India and abroad have demonstrated that silica-dust exposures among miners, building and construction, stone cutting/crushers, pottery, steel and allied factory, ceramic, thermal power and other workers increases the risk of active TB by three to four times. The combination of silicosis and HIV further increases the risk of acquiring active TB by 15 times.
We note that the National Strategic Plan does acknowledge the risk to mine and stone crusher workers as priorities for active case finding, but it fails to mention other silica-exposed workers and it does not provide any road map for preventing TB among this vulnerable population.

The five prioritized risk groups listed (page 66) mention silicosis patients, but not silica-exposed workers. In addition, we know that informal sector workers tend to have higher silica dust exposures and less access to medical services and therefore this subpopulation should be given greater attention.

The recent UN General Assembly Declaration from the High-level Meeting on TB requires countries to commit to “implementing primary prevention in high-risk occupations by reducing silica dust exposures in mining, construction and other dusty workplaces.” Efforts to target vulnerable workers and communities should incorporate training with strategies to implement silica-dust control measures.
Published studies have demonstrated that the adoption of low-cost wet processing methods in India can reduce respirable silica dust among highly-exposed workers by 80% in these operations. Studies conducted among miners and quarry workers have shown that reducing silica dust can significantly reduce TB incidence. In acknowledging these risks, other national TB programmes have adopted policies calling for increased regulation to improve workplace dust controls.
Therefore, we are requesting the following response on behalf of the RNTCP:

Formally recognize and prioritize all silica-exposed workers for screening and treatment services.
Expand programmes with NGO partners to include training, capacity building, mapping and in targeting high-risk workers for screening and treatment services.
Initiate inter-ministerial level dialogue to improve regulations and its application on respirable silica dust controls in the workplace and build capacity among the inspectorates to enforce these measures.
Initiate a programme to target informal sector workers for TB surveillance and control in construction, quarries, mining, and other dusty workplaces in particularly for migrant workers.
Increase training opportunities for medical officers in RNTCP programme to improve the diagnoses of silicosis and silico-tuberculosis and in particular, the NIOSH “B” reader certification.
Join in efforts at the Supreme Court and at the National Human Rights Commission to recognize TB and silicosis as compensable diseases for informal sector workers with a history of silica-dust exposures.

We urge the RNTCP to implement these measures to help achieve its goal of eliminating TB in India by 2030.
Please respond to Jagdish Patel, national coordinator (oehni.del@gmail.com), to inform us on progress with these requests. List of the people who have endorsed this letter is attached herewith which includes luminaries in their own field spreading across the globe.
---
*Click HERE for the list of signatories

Comments

Academics urge Azim Premji University to drop FIR against Student Reading Circle

By A Representative A group of academics and civil society members has issued an open letter to the leadership of Azim Premji University expressing concern over the filing of a police complaint that led to an FIR against a student-run reading circle following a recent incident of violence on campus. The signatories state that they hold the university in high regard for its commitment to constitutional values, critical inquiry and ethical public engagement, and argue that it is precisely because of this reputation that the present development is troubling.

Was Netaji forced to alter face, die in obscurity in USSR in 1975? Was he so meek?

By Rajiv Shah This should sound almost hilarious. Not only did Subhas Chandra Bose not die in a plane crash in Taipei, nor was he the mysterious Gumnami Baba who reportedly passed away on 16 September 1985 in Ayodhya, but we are now told that he actually died in 1975—date unknown—“in oblivion” somewhere in the former Soviet Union. Which city? Moscow? No one seems to know.

UAPA action against Telangana activist: Criminalising legitimate democratic activity?

By A Representative The National Investigation Agency's Hyderabad branch has issued notices to more than ten individuals in Telangana in connection with FIR No. RC-04/2025. Those served include activists, former student leaders, civil rights advocates, poets, writers, retired schoolteachers, and local leaders associated with the Communist Party of India (CPI) and the Indian National Congress.

Asbestos contamination in children’s products highlights global oversight gaps

By A Representative A commentary published by the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS) has drawn attention to the challenges governments face in responding effectively to global public-health risks. In an article written by Laurie Kazan-Allen and published on March 5, 2026, the author examines how the discovery of asbestos contamination in children’s play products has raised questions about regulatory oversight and international product safety. The article opens by reflecting on lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic, noting that governments in several countries were slow to respond to early warning signs of the crisis. Referring to the experience of the United Kingdom, the author writes that delays in implementing protective measures contributed to “232,112 recorded deaths and over a million people suffering from long Covid.” The commentary uses this example to illustrate what it describes as the dangers of underestimating emerging threats. Attention then turns...

Aligning too closely with U.S., allies, India’s silence on IRIS Dena raises troubling questions

By Vidya Bhushan Rawat* The reported sinking of the Iranian ship IRIS Dena in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka raises troubling questions about international norms and the credibility of the so-called rule-based order. If indeed the vessel was attacked by the American Navy while returning from a joint exercise in Visakhapatnam, it would represent a serious breach of trust and a violation of the principles that govern such cooperative engagements. Warships participating in these exercises are generally not armed for combat; they are meant to symbolize solidarity and friendship. The incident, therefore, is not only shocking but also deeply ironic.

The kitchen as prison: A feminist elegy for domestic slavery

By Garima Srivastava* Kumar Ambuj stands as one of the most incisive voices in contemporary Hindi poetry. His work, stripped of ornamentation, speaks directly to the lived realities of India’s marginalized—women, the rural poor, and those crushed under invisible forms of violence. His celebrated poem “Women Who Cook” (Khānā Banātī Striyāṃ) is not merely about food preparation; it is a searing indictment of patriarchal domestic structures that reduce women’s existence to endless, unpaid labour.

India’s foreign policy at crossroads: Cost of silence in the face of aggression

By Venkatesh Narayanan, Sandeep Pandey The widely anticipated yet unprovoked attack on Iran on March 1 by the United States and Israel has drawn sharp criticism from several quarters around the world. Reports indicate that the strikes have resulted in significant civilian casualties, including 165 elementary school girls, 20 female volleyball players, and many other civilians.

India’s green energy push faces talent crunch amidst record growth at 16% CAGR

By Jag Jivan* A new study by a top consulting firm has found that India’s cleantech sector is entering a decisive growth phase, with strong policy backing, record capacity additions and surging investor interest, but facing mounting pressure on talent supply and rising compensation costs .

Buddhist shrines were 'massively destroyed' by Brahmanical rulers: Historian DN Jha

Nalanda mahavihara By Rajiv Shah Prominent historian DN Jha, an expert in India's ancient and medieval past, in his new book , "Against the Grain: Notes on Identity, Intolerance and History", in a sharp critique of "Hindutva ideologues", who look at the ancient period of Indian history as "a golden age marked by social harmony, devoid of any religious violence", has said, "Demolition and desecration of rival religious establishments, and the appropriation of their idols, was not uncommon in India before the advent of Islam".

Search This Blog