Parliament Question: Mine Accidents and Loss of Lives

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF MINES LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4081 ANSWERED ON 12.08.2026 MINE ACCIDENTS AND LOSS OF LIVES

4081. PROF. SOUGATA RAY:

Will the Minister of MINES be pleased to state:

(a) the details of accidents and loss of lives in mines and coal mines across the country during the last three years, mine, State and mineral-wise;

(b) the details of the causes of such accidents, including roof falls, explosions, inundation, fires, slope failures, machinery-related accidents, transportation mishaps and other safety-related incidents along with the action taken against the mine operators found responsible;

(c) whether the Government has conducted any review of the implementation of mine safety standards and the effectiveness of inspections carried out by the Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS) and other competent authorities and if so, the details and findings thereof; and

(d) the steps taken by the Government to strengthen mine safety through modern technologies such as real-time monitoring systems, artificial intelligence, drones, gas detection systems, remote-operated equipment and enhanced enforcement mechanisms to prevent recurrence of such accidents and safeguard the lives of mine workers? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR COAL AND MINES (SHRI SATISH CHANDRA DUBEY)

(a): Details of accidents and loss of lives in mines, including coal mines, across the country during the last three years are given in Annexure-I.

(b): There are various reasons of such accidents; fall from height; flying pieces and explosive accidents; landslides; breakage of ropes, chains and suspension gear; dumper and drilling machine-related accidents; and accidents involving power cables etc. The action on mine-operators is taken as per the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions (OSH&WC) Code, 2020 and the rules framed thereunder.

(c) & (d): Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS) has been entrusted the task of inspection of mines to ensure the compliance of the provisions of OSH&WC Code, 2020for enhancing the safety of mine workers. Accordingly, DGMS has taken various steps to reduce the fatalities in mines and enforce the safety of workers engaged therein, which inter-alia include conducting regular enquiries into the accidents and dangerous occurrences to ascertain cause and circumstances, regular inspection of mines, development of standard protocols, holding national conferences on safety in mines, observance of safety weeks, campaigns, awareness etc.

Further, the OSH&WC Code, 2020 regulates working conditions and workplace environments to safeguard the health, safety and well-being of workers including mine workers. Various provisions have been made by the Government to strengthen mine safety, prevent recurrence of accidents and safeguard the lives of mine workers such as:

(i) to design, plan, work a mine including scientific method of work, pit slope, dump slope, Strata Control and Monitoring Plan (SCAMP) as defined by the scientific study.

(ii) for the introduction of new method, new technology, equipment and systems for enhanced safety and production through Standard Operation Procedure (SOP) / Code of Practice (COP).

(iii) for incorporating risk-based safety management plan for promoting self-regulation specific to individual mines on the basis of identified hazards for mitigating the risk through the control measures.

(iv) for emergency response and evacuation plan to deal with accident/ emergencies. *****Annexure-I

Details of accidents in coal mines:

FATAL SERIOUS YEAR STATE FATALITY INJURED ACCIDENT ACCIDENT 2023 Chhattisgarh 2 2 12 13 2023 Gujarat 0 0 2 2 2023 Jharkhand 11 12 16 18 2023 Madhya Pradesh 2 2 5 5 2023 Maharashtra 3 3 2 2 2023 Odisha 6 8 1 4 2023 Tamil Nadu 1 1 0 2023 Telangana 6 6 67 67 2023 Uttar Pradesh 2 2 8 12 2023 West Bengal 5 5 4 7 2023 Total 38 41 117 130 2024 Chhattisgarh 6 6 10 10 2024 Gujarat 1 1 1 1 2024 Jharkhand 3 3 6 7 2024 Madhya Pradesh 7 8 6 11 2024 Maharashtra 2 2 4 4 2024 Odisha 3 3 2 2 2024 Tamil Nadu 2 2 2 2 2024 Telangana 7 8 86 86 2024 Uttar Pradesh 3 4 0 0 2024 West Bengal 4 12 2 3 2024 Total 38 49 119 126 2025 Chhattisgarh 6 7 6 8 2025 Gujarat 1 1 2025 Jharkhand 15 22 12 16 2025 Madhya Pradesh 4 6 9 10 2025 Maharashtra 2 2 7 7 2025 Odisha 4 4 3 3 2025 Telangana 3 3 80 82 2025 Uttar Pradesh 2 2 1 1 2025 West Bengal 5 5 0 0 2025 Total 41 51 119 128Details of accidents in Non-coal mines:

FATAL SERIOUS YEAR STATE FATALITY INJURED ACCIDENT ACCIDENT 2023 Andhra Pradesh 3 4 0 1 2023 Assam 0 0 3 3 2023 Chhattisgarh 2 2 0 0 2023 Gujarat 0 0 2 2 2023 Jharkhand 1 1 3 3 2023 Karnataka 3 3 5 6 2023 Madhya Pradesh 5 5 2 5 2023 Maharashtra 2 4 4 6 2023 Odisha 1 1 7 7 2023 Rajasthan 4 6 9 9 2023 Tamil Nadu 2 2 0 0 2023 Telangana 2 2 0 0 2023 Uttar Pradesh 3 3 0 1 2023 Total 28 33 35 43 2024 Andhra Pradesh 0 0 4 4 2024 Assam 1 1 2 2 2024 Chhattisgarh 1 1 3 3 2024 Jharkhand 3 4 4 8 2024 Karnataka 5 6 4 9 2024 Madhya Pradesh 4 5 4 6 2024 Maharashtra 2 2 1 3 2024 Odisha 4 4 7 8 2024 Rajasthan 7 8 2 15 2024 Tamil Nadu 2 2 0 1 2024 Telangana 1 1 0 0 2024 Uttar Pradesh 3 6 0 0 2024 Total 33 40 31 59 2025 Andhra Pradesh 4 12 3 9 2025 Assam 2 2 3 4 2025 Chhattisgarh 1 1 4 4 2025 Gujarat 1 1 1 1 2025 Jharkhand 2 3 3 3 2025 Karnataka 7 7 3 9 2025 Kerala 2 3 0 0 2025 Madhya Pradesh 4 5 4 17 2025 Maharashtra 1 2 2 3 2025 Odisha 4 4 2 2FATAL SERIOUS YEAR STATE FATALITY INJURED ACCIDENT ACCIDENT 2025 Rajasthan 4 4 3 3 2025 Tamil Nadu 2 2 0 0 2025 Tripura 1 1 1 1 2025 Uttar Pradesh 6 13 1 3 2025 West Bengal 2 3 0 0 2025 Total 43 63 30 59