'Need to bring in risk assessment-based safety plan in mines'

Director-general of mines safety Rahul Guha today said a risk assessment-based safety management plan needs to be put in place to further improve the safety standard of coal mines in the country.
According to Guha, accidents would be fewer if a proper risk assessment-based safety management plan was in place and periodical reviews were carried out.
"With coal production projected to expand on a massive scale (about one billion tonne in 4-5 years' time), it is high time we tested our own emergency preparedness, spotted where the gaps exist and knew how to plug them," Guha said at the CII-organised Safety Symposium & Exposition: Proactive Approaches towards Safety at Workplace & Beyond, here today.

"This is where the importance of training comes into play. No matter how sophisticated the safety machineries and equipment we have at our disposal, we must have people who are properly skilled and trained. In fact, most safety personnel are found to be unsuitable," Guha pointed out.
He said that amended Mines Vocational Training Rules were expected to be ready early next year and that two government committees are working on it.
Meanwhile, the West Bengal government is all set to issue fire licence online to those willing to set up new units, state Minister for Fire & Emergency Services and Disaster Management Javed Ahmed Khan said.

Speaking at the same event, Khan described this as a part of the state's "committed efforts" to increase ease in doing businesses here and boost investors' confidence.
"We have hired a company to create a dedicated portal for this. It is expected to be operational by the end of this year," Khan said adding they had invested a huge amount of money in creating infrastructure, buying equipment and conducting training.
The state would soon issue a notification of making it mandatory for owners of big malls and high-rise buildings to engage a full-time fire supervisor and conduct mock drills on their premises in association with the state fire department, at least every three months, Khan added.