The New Indian Express ·
Silicosis in Rajasthan — the policy and the gaps
Rajasthan, with its large mining and stone-processing industry, has millions of workers exposed to silica dust, which can cause silicosis, an incurable and irreversible lung disease. Workers involved in sandstone and granite mining, stone cutting, carving, grinding and drilling face particularly high risks because these activities generate fine silica dust.
In August 2024, the Supreme Court held that failure to prevent and treat silicosis violates the fundamental right to life with dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution. It directed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to monitor compliance with dust-control measures in silicosis-prone industries and gave the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) a role in overseeing compensation. Rajasthan continues to face delays in certification, shortages of radiologists and gaps in enforcement of workplace safety measures.
1965: Rajasthan enacted the Rajasthan Workmen’s Compensation (Occupational Diseases) Rules, 1965.
1992–1994: The Desert Medicine Research Centre (DMRC), Jodhpur, conducted a study that found clinical silicosis in 9.9 per cent of sandstone workers examined.
1993: Pneumoconiosis Medical Boards (PMBs) were established at government medical colleges in Jodhpur, Udaipur, Ajmer, Kota and Bikaner.
1996: In the Chinchurgheria Silicosis Victims case, the Supreme Court ordered ₹1 lakh in compensation for the family of each deceased worker at an unregistered stone-crushing unit, marking an early formal judicial acknowledgement of silicosis fatalities in India’s informal and unorganised sectors.
2003: NGOs, including HEDCON, raised concerns about understaffed and dysfunctional medical boards.
2006–2009: In 2006, an NGO filed a PIL highlighting the pervasive threat of silicosis nationwide. In 2009, the Supreme Court formally directed the NHRC to recommend relief measures in heavily affected states such as Rajasthan, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh.
2011: Rajasthan began a targeted process to identify and track people affected by silicosis.
2013: The state began providing direct monetary assistance to verified patients.
2015: Rajasthan declared silicosis a notifiable disease under the Rajasthan Epidemic Diseases Act, 1957.
2016–2017: The Supreme Court ordered Rajasthan to conduct district-wide surveys, implement time-bound relief and set up certified medical boards. The judicial pressure catalysed the development of a robust “Rajasthan Model” of certified Pneumoconiosis Medical Boards across districts.
2017–2018: A CAG report recorded 7,959 silicosis cases and 449 deaths in five districts over 26 months. More than 1,000 silicosis patients and activists protested in Jaipur, seeking disability status, health coverage and pensions.
October 2019: Rajasthan launched its policy on pneumoconiosis, including silicosis detection, prevention, control and rehabilitation, becoming the first state in India to introduce a dedicated silicosis policy.
2020: Financial assistance guidelines were standardised.
May 2022: Rajasthan launched the new Silicosis Portal for registration, verification, certification and disbursement of assistance.
August 2024: The Supreme Court directed the NGT to assume long-term oversight of silicosis-prone industries and factories across India and instructed State Pollution Control Boards to close down non-compliant units.
August 2026: The Supreme Court ordered all States and Union Territories to enforce standardised action plans focusing on mandatory personal protective equipment (PPE), dust mitigation and worker health screenings.
What is silicosis?
Silicosis is an occupational lung disease caused by prolonged inhalation of silica dust. The dust enters the lungs and causes inflammation, scarring and progressive damage. It can cause breathing difficulty, persistent cough, chest pain and fatigue and can lead to severe disability and premature death.
Which workers are most at risk?
Workers in sandstone and granite mining and processing are particularly vulnerable. Drilling, grinding, carving, crushing and cutting stone can release fine silica dust into the air.
Official research shows that sandstone contains high levels of silica, while marble produces less silica dust. Workers using dry drilling and other dust-producing methods face greater exposure.
How quickly can silicosis develop?
According to Dr PK Sisodia, a silicosis expert in the Social and Welfare Department of the Rajasthan government, the disease typically develops after 10 to 15 years of exposure in mines. Workers in stone-carving and grinding units can develop it much faster, sometimes within two to three years.
What are the symptoms and how does the disease progress?
A dry cough is usually an early symptom, followed by increasing difficulty in breathing. As the disease progresses, patients may become unable to work.
Dr Sisodia says advanced lung damage can lead to critical deterioration and death. The risk of tuberculosis (TB) also increases significantly. Certified patients often die within six to seven years of diagnosis, partly because the disease is frequently detected at an advanced stage.
What is the average age of a silicosis victim?
The data indicate that the average age is about 34 years. Cases have been reported in which workers in stone-processing units die young because of high levels of silica-dust exposure. In some districts, workers between 25 and 30 are developing the disease.
How widespread is silicosis in Rajasthan?
The mining sector employs about three million people in Rajasthan, while stone processing, including carving, crushing and cutting, employs around half a million.
Silicosis is particularly prevalent in districts where mining and stone processing are major occupations, including Karauli, Sirohi, Dholpur, Bharatpur, Nagaur, Jodhpur, Bhilwara and Pali.
The Rajasthan Medical and Health Department says 20 districts across 34 blocks have been identified as affected by silicosis.
In which other states is silicosis prevalent?
Haryana, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh are among the other states where silicosis is prevalent because of extensive mining and stone-processing activities.
What are “widow villages”?
In some mining and stone-processing areas, many workers hail from the same villages or regions. When several workers die of silicosis, entire communities can be left with households headed by widows.
Harirampura in Karauli and Ranidhara, Phoolabai Kheda and Vagdari in the Pindwara area of Sirohi are examples.
What has Rajasthan done to provide relief?
Rajasthan began providing direct monetary assistance to verified patients in 2013 and declared silicosis a notifiable disease in 2015.
On October 2, 2019, it introduced the Rajasthan Policy on Pneumoconiosis, including Silicosis Detection, Prevention, Control and Rehabilitation. Rajasthan was the first state in India to introduce a dedicated policy of this kind.
The state says the policy covers identification, certification, rehabilitation, prevention and control, with financial assistance linked to certification.
Has Rajasthan changed its silicosis policy since 2019?
As of now, no changes have been made to the policy since its introduction in 2019.
What benefits does a certified silicosis patient receive?
Under the policy, a certified patient receives:
₹3 lakh as one-time rehabilitation assistance
Free medicines and treatment in government hospitals
₹2 lakh to the family or legal heir after the patient’s death
Widow pension for the affected person’s wife under state rules
Assistance for children through the Palanhar Scheme
Priority for benefits under the National Food Security Act (NFSA) and other eligible welfare schemes
The Rajasthan government says financial assistance is released on the basis of the silicosis certificate.
How does a worker become eligible for assistance?
A worker needs official certification as a silicosis patient and must apply through the Raj Silicosis Portal using Jan-Aadhaar.
The system is designed for online registration, verification and assessment, issuance of silicosis certificates and disbursement of assistance. The government says it is integrated with other state databases and is intended to reduce physical visits and delays.
Why are workers facing delays in certification?
The main problems are shortages of radiologists and non-functional medical boards. Dr Sisodia says medical boards in 11 districts are currently non-functional because of the unavailability of radiologists. More than 12,000 applications for medical certification are pending.
Social organisations also point to the absence of a fixed timeframe and a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), errors in records, difficulties faced by migrant and single workers, and delays in correcting personal details.
How many people have been screened and certified?
About 122,000 people have been screened through the portal, and silicosis has been confirmed in 7,082 workers. One set of records reports 8,332 deaths.
Government figures show that only around 7–8 per cent of applications are ultimately confirmed as silicosis. Dr Sisodia attributes the low confirmation rate partly to fraudulent applications and applications from people suffering from other respiratory conditions.
Have the annual certification figures fallen, and why?
Official data record 4,877 cases in 2022, 5,204 in 2023, 518 in 2024, 1,187 in 2025 and 645 so far in 2026.
Dr Sisodia says earlier figures included cases accumulated over several years. He says the newer system increasingly records newly identified cases and estimates 1,200–1,500 cases for 2025–26 as a more realistic annual caseload.
Social activist Rajendra Kumar gives a different explanation, saying applications are being rejected more often and that problems in certification are reducing the number of officially recognised cases.
How much financial assistance has been distributed?
The material says assistance worth ₹23 crore for 866 beneficiaries is pending.
Is the financial assistance enough for rehabilitation?
Social activist Rajendra Kumar, who has worked on silicosis-related issues for 12 years, says the amount is not enough to sustain a family and does not provide an alternative source of employment. Social organisations have also raised concerns about delays in certification and payment.
A large number of migrant workers affected by silicosis are also not eligible for benefits under the silicosis policy.
How can silicosis be prevented at the workplace?
Prevention is the best cure. The main approach is to reduce workers’ exposure to silica dust through improved technology and workplace controls.
Wet drilling and wet cutting use water to prevent dust from spreading into the air. Silica-dust levels can be reduced by 70–80 per cent through these methods.
Can ordinary masks prevent silicosis?
Silica particles are too fine for ordinary masks to provide adequate protection. High-end respiratory protection may be required, although its effective use can be limited. Workers may also avoid wearing masks because they can affect productivity.
Does modern technology help contain the hazard?
Yes. Dr Sisodia points to wet drilling, wire saws and computerised machines as technologies that can reduce dust exposure, but says these are currently largely restricted to big mines and processing units.
A broader estimate suggests that 60–70 per cent of dust reduction can be achieved through upgraded technology.
Then why is prevention and enforcement still difficult?
The problem lies with small mines and factories, overlapping workplace jurisdictions and weak enforcement.
Many small establishments fall outside the jurisdiction of oversight agencies such as the Directorate General of Mines Safety, the Factories and Boilers Inspection Department, which deals with workplace safety in stone factories, and the Mining and Geology Department, which deals exclusively with mining-sector issues.
Some establishments employ only five to 10 workers on paper, potentially placing them outside the jurisdiction of laws applying to larger workplaces. The majority of mines and units do not adopt advanced technologies because of the costs involved.
The Factories and Boilers Inspection Department covers around 11,000 establishments, but inspectors are posted in only 19 of Rajasthan’s 41 districts. The department has only one medical officer for the state. Since 2017–18, random checks have recorded only about 60 rule violations, and the matter is still pending in court.
What has the Supreme Court done on silicosis?
The Supreme Court has dealt with silicosis through several cases and directions.
The 1996 Chinchurgheria case was an early judicial recognition of deaths from silicosis among workers in informal stone-crushing units.
In 2011, the Supreme Court directed the NHRC to facilitate benefits and relief for families of people who had died from silicosis and whose cases could not otherwise be compensated.
In August 2024, in People’s Rights and Social Research Centre (PRASAR) v. Union of India, the Supreme Court held that silicosis is preventable through adequate safety measures and that failure to prevent and treat it violates the right to life with dignity under Article 21. It directed the NGT to monitor compliance with dust-control measures and gave the NHRC a role in overseeing compensation.
What is the current position in Rajasthan?
Rajasthan’s 2019 silicosis policy remains the basis for financial assistance and rehabilitation, while the state continues to use the Silicosis Portal for registration, certification and payment. The state government says the portal was introduced to simplify certification and make assistance more efficient.
The current system has applications at different stages, including medical screening, medical-board examination, certificate issuance and payment. The government’s portal publishes these stages separately, indicating that cases can remain pending at different points in the process.
The key issues that need to be addressed are the identification and certification of affected workers, timely release of assistance, availability of radiologists and medical boards, adequate staffing of factory inspectors, and enforcement of dust-control and workplace-safety measures.
Activists also argue that the law needs to be changed so that smaller mines and units do not escape regulatory oversight because of workforce thresholds. They say that unless employers face financial liability and effective legal enforcement, prevention and control of silicosis will remain difficult.