Gujarat govt to give Rs 3 lakh ex gratia to Silicosis affected individuals

Ahmedabad: In a first, the Gujarat government has made provision for granting one time assistance of Rs 3 lakh to the silicosis affected person by way of ex gratia payment.

Additionally, the government has also decided to provide free diagnosis and medical treatment to all affected persons in the state without any cap or limit.

Silicosis is a type of pneumoconiosis, a lung disease which is caused by inhalation of silica dust. Workers at mines, queries, and ceramic factories are said to be worst affected by it. Large number of them are migrant workers.

The state government announced these decisions in an affidavit it submitted in Gujarat High Court in response to a petition seeking a comprehensive policy for rehabilitation and compensation for affected people in the state.

This is said to be the first time that the state, which is reported to have the maximum number of people affected by the disease, has come up with a policy for people affected with silicosis.

Lochan Sehra, secretary, labour, skill development & employment department, in an affidavit dated January 7 informed the division bench of High Court about the state's decisions.

The affidavit stated that the government, by way of a resolution dated January 7, took a "policy decision of granting one time assistant of Rs 3 lakh to the Silicosis affected persons by way of ex gratia payment..."

In addition to this, the health and family welfare department has granted approval "in the matter of extension of free diagnosis and free medical treatment to all the Silicosis affected persons in the State without there being any cap or limit."

These medical facilities will be available in all the government run hospitals and medical colleges. These decisions come nearly a year after Peoples Training and Research Centre, an NGO which has been working on the issues since long, along with over 20 affected persons moved the high court seeking rehabilitation schemes.

The petitioners have also claimed that there was non compliance of the Supreme Court order passed in 2006 addressing the very issues being raised. The division bench of chief justice Sunita Agarwal and justice DN Ray had instructed the government to come out with "proper policy to address" the grievances. 

During a hearing on Monday, the high court gave further instruction to the state government to deliberate on the aspect of extending financial support to the families of affected individuals for education, marriages, among others. The instruction was given after petitioners' lawyer Vedant Rajguru pointed out to the court about the rehabilitation scheme of Haryana government which has such provisions besides ex gratia and medical facilities. 

It was pointed out that people affected by silicosis are either permanently disabled or have damaged organs, making it impossible for them to earn their livelihood, which leads to the suffering of their families and children. The bench stated that since the affected people come from marginalised sections of the society and work in unorganised sectors, "deliberation is required at the end of the state government" for further assistance. 

At the end of the hearing, the court also directed the state to create awareness so that its policies of financial and free medical facilities reach the affected people across the state.