Development of Indian Legislation in Preventing Explosions in Indian Coal Mines

Mining being a continuous struggle against the unpredictable force of nature, is one of the most hazardous professions of the peacetime. The hostile environment and hazards of roof fall, fire, inundation and explosion call for specific safety measures. Despite of advancement of technology disaster in mining mainly due to fire, explosion and inundation continued to occur at regular interval through out the world. From the very beginning, mining in India has been marred by disasters and major accidents. In fact the introduction of legislation has been expedited by two disasters, the first one a shaft accident in Kolar gold field in 1897 in which 52 persons were killed and the second one at Khost coal mine in 1898 where 47 persons died due to a major fire. Consequences of disaster are enormous in terms of loss of lives and property. The loss of moral of the mining community and those connected with it and the socioeconomic impact becomes irreparable.