The Mines Act, 1952 – CS Professional Study Material

Chapter 3(D) The Mines Act, 1952 – CS Professional Labour Laws and Practice Notes is designed strictly as per the latest syllabus and exam pattern.

The Mines Act, 1952 – CS Professional Labour Laws and Practice Study Material

Question 1.
What is the rationale for enacting Mines Act.
Answer:

  • The Mines Act was enacted in the year 1952.
  • It is applicable to whole of India including the state of Jammu & Kashmir.
  • The objective of Mines Act was to ensure proper safety, welfare and health of mine laborers.
  • It regulates the hours of both surface and underground workers.
  • No worker is allowed to work more than 9 hours a day on the surface or 8 hours a day below the surface.
  • No woman mine worker shall be employed in any mine below ground nor in any mine above ground except between the hours of 6 a.m. and 7 p.m
  • No person employed in a mine is allowed to work more than 6 days a week.

The Mines Act, 1952 - CS Professional Study Material

Question 2.
List the Rules framed under the Mines Act, 1952.
Answer:
Following Rules have been framed under the Mines Act, 1952
The Mines Rescue Rules, 1985 :

  • Applies to coal and metalliferous underground mines.
  • Object is to provide for rescue of work persons in the event of explosion, fire etc.

The Mines Vocational Training Rules, 1966 :

  • Applies to all types of mines
  • Object is to equip the mine workers, to recognise and deal with hazards.

The Mines Rules, 1955 :

  • Applies to coal and metalliferous underground mines.
  • Object is to define Welfare, Health and Medical Surveillance.
  • It provides for Worker’s Participation in Safety Management

The Mines Creche Rules, 1966 and The Coal Mines Pit Head Bath Rules, 1959

  • Applies to coal mines
  • Object is to provide creche facility to children of female employees in all mines and bathing facilities for workers.

The Mines Act, 1952 - CS Professional Study Material

Question 3.
List the various Chapters and sections of the Mines Act, 1952.
Answer:
Sections under the Mines Act, 1952

Chapter Sections Index
1 1-4 Applicability of the Act and Definitions
2 5-1 Inspectors and Certifying Surgeons
3 12-15 Committees
4 16-18 Mines Management
5 19-27 Health and Safety
6 28-48 Employment
7 49-56 Leave and Wages
8 57-62 Regulations, Rules and Bye Laws
9 63-81 Penalties and Procedures
10 82-88 Miscellaneous

The Mines Act, 1952 - CS Professional Study Material

Question 4.
When is a worker said to be employed in or in connection with a mine?
Answer:
A person working or employed or employed in or in connection with a mine is said to be working or employed –

  • Below ground if he is working or employed –
    • In a shaft which has been or is in the course of being sunk
    • In any excavation which extends below superjacent ground
  • Above ground, If he is working in open cast working or other than Below Ground

The Mines Act, 1952 - CS Professional Study Material

The Mines Act, 1952 Notes

Object of enactment of Mines Act

  • To ensure proper safety, walfare and health of mine laborers.
  • To regulate the hours of both surface and underground workers.
    • No worker is allowed to work more than 9 hours a day on the surface or 8 hours a day below the surface.
    • No woman mine worker shall be employed in any mine below ground nor in any mine above ground except between the hours of 6 a.m. and 7 p.m
    • No person employed in a mine is allowed to work more than 6 days a week.

Rules framed w.r.t. Mines Act,1952 or as under :

  • The Mines Rescue Rules, 1985:
    1. Object of the rules: To provide for rescue of work persons in the event of explosion, fire etc..
    2. Applicability of the rules: These rules apply to coal and metalliferous underground mines.
  • The Mines Vocational Training Rules, 1966
    Object of the rules: To equip the mine workers, in all types of mines, to recognise and deal with hazards.
  • The Mines Rules, 1955
    Object of the rules: Elaboration of Welfare, Health and Medical Surveillance, Worker’s Participation in Safety Management in respect of coal, metalliferous and oil mines.
  • The Mines Creche Rules, 1966 and The Coal Mines Pit Head Bath Rules, 1959

The Mines Act, 1952 - CS Professional Study Material

Object of the rules:
To provide respectively for shelter to children of female employees in all mines and bathing facilities for workers employed in coal mines.

Employed
A person is said to be “employed” in a mine who works as the manager or who works under appointment by the owner, agent or manager of the mine or with knowledge of the manager, whether for wages or not:

  1. in any mining operation (including the concomitant operations of handing and transport of minerals up to the point of despatch and of gathering sand and transport thereof to the mine)
  2. in operations or services relating to the development of the mine including construction of plant therein but excluding construction of buildings, roads, wells and any building work not directly connected with any existing or future mining operations:
  3. in operating, servicing, maintaining or repairing any part or any machinery used in or about the mine;
  4. in operations, within the premises of the mine of loading for despatch of minerals;
  5. in any office of the mine;
  6. in any welfare, health, sanitary or conservancy services required to be provided under this Act, or watch and ward, within the premises of the mine excluding residential area; or
  7. in any kind of work whatsoever which is preparatory or incidental to, or connected with mining operations; (Section 2(1)(h)}

Inspector
Inspector means an Inspector of Mines appointed under this Act, and includes a district magistrate when exercising any power or performing any duty of an Inspector which is empowered by this Act to exercise or perform; (Section 2(1)(i)}

The Mines Act, 1952 - CS Professional Study Material

Mine
Mine means any excavation where any operation for the purpose of searching for or obtaining minerals has been or is being carried on and includes –

  1. all borings, bore holes, oil wells and accessory crude conditioning plants, including the pipe conveying mineral oil within the oilfields:
  2. all shafts, in or adjacent to and belonging to a mine, where in the course of being sunk or not:
  3. all levels and inclined planes in the course of being driven;
  4. all opencast workings;
  5. all conveyors or aerial ropeways provided for the bringing into or removal from a mine of minerals or other articles or for the removal of refuse therefrom;
  6. all adits, livels, planes, machinery works, railways, tramways and sidings in or adjacent to and belonging to a mine;
  7. all protective works being carried out in or adjacent to a mine;
  8. all workshop and store situated within the precincts of a mine and the same management and used primarily for the purposes connected with that mine or a number of mines under the same management;
  9. all power stations, transformer sub-stations converter stations : rectifier stations and accumulator storage stations for supplying electricity solely or mainly for the purpose of working the mine or a number of mines under the same management;
  10. any premises for the time being used for depositing sand or other material for use in a mine or for depositing refuse from a mine or in which any operations in connection with such and refuse or other material is being carried on, being premises exclusively occupied by the owner of the mine:
  11. any premises in or adjacent to and belonging to a mine or which any process ancillary to the getting, dressing or operation for sale of minerals or of coke is being carried on; {Section 2(1)(j)}

The Mines Act, 1952 - CS Professional Study Material

Owner when used,

  1. in relation to a mine, means
    • any person who is the immediate proprietor or lessee or occupier of the mine or of any part thereof and
  2. in the case of a mine the business whereof is being carried on by liquidator or receiver, such liquidator or receiver.

When is a worker said to be employed in or in connection with a mine?
According to sub-section (2) Section 2, a person working or employed or employed in or in connection with a mine is said to be working or employed-
(a) “below ground” if he is working or employed –

  1. in a shaft which has been or is in the course of being sunk; or
  2. in any excavation which extends below superjacent ground; and

(b) “above ground”

  • If he is working in open cast working or any other manner not specified in clause (a)

Functions of Inspectors
Section 6 of the Act enumerates the following functions of Inspectors:
(i) Exercise power of Chief Inspector- The Chief Inspector may, with the approval of the Central Government and subject to such restrictions or conditions as he may think fit to impose, by order in writing, authorise any Inspector named or any class of Inspectors specifed in the order to exercise such of the powers of the Chief Inspector under this Act, as he may specify. But powers relating to appeals, under the Act, can be exercised by the Chief Inspector only. %

The Mines Act, 1952 - CS Professional Study Material

(ii) Curtailment of powers of Inspectors: The Chief Inspector may by order in writing, prohibit or restrict the exercise by any Inspector named or any class of Inspectors specifed in the order of any power conferred on Inspectors under this Act.

(iii) Local jurisdiction of Inspectors: Subject to the other provisions contained in this section, the Chief Inspector shall declare the local area or areas within which or the group or class of mines with respect to which Inspector shall exercise their respective powers.

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