KOLKATA (miningweekly.com) - India's Mines Amendment Bill 2011, which was scheduled for parliamentary approval at the end of this month, would significantly increase fines and the duration of incarceration for violations of safety norms and the loss of life through negligence in the mining sector.

The proposed amendments have drawn criticism from mine managers across the country on the grounds that they were not consulted by either the government or the Director General of Mines Safety, with the miners warning that the harsh penalties, including the possibility of life-long imprisonment, would further scare away trained mining manpower, who were already showing a preference for other professions.

Fines proposed in the new law have been increased from Rs 500 ($9.40) to Rs 500 000 ($9 432) for the violation of safety norms and imprisonment for betwen three months and five years in cases of loss of life. Another new provision in the amendments stipulates that the onus would be on the mine manager to convince the courts that adequate safety norms were in place at the time of an accident.

The principle of presumption of innocence under criminal law would, therefore, not be applicable.

According to a note issued by the Labour Ministry, which was piloting the amendments in Parliament, “these amendments envisage extending the Mines Act of 1952 to the whole of India, including territorial waters, the continental shelf and exclusive economic zones, and substituting the definition of owner so as to make it more comprehensive and specific”.

“It shall increase the penalties provided in various sections and shift the burden of proof upon persons who are being prosecuted,” the Labour Ministry said.

“Mining operations are getting more mechanised with the introduction of heavy machines, and shallow deposits are getting depleted and mines becoming deeper with attendant complexities. Also, operators from other parts of the world have started acquiring mining rights and managing mining operations within our country and these developments necessitate the amendments,” it added.

The Mines Act of 1952 was last amended in 1983.

However, the Indian Mine Managers’ Association has flayed 11 provisions in the amendments on the ground that graduates from the Indian School of Mines were already preferring other companies, rather than taking up assignments in the mining sector, adding that the spectre of stiff fines and long-term imprisonment would further drive away prospective professionals from mining jobs.

As reported by Mining Weekly Online in December 2012, the Indian mining sector was facing a shortage of between 2 500 and 3 000 mining engineers a year and this was expected to increase to 8 000 a year by 2017, with current growth of the sector and capacity constraints in the training institutes.