Guj HC seeks report on health of thermal power plant workers

The Gujarat High Court today ordered formation of a high-level committee to assess the health status of workers of 11 thermal power plants in the state and to examine the health delivery systems there.
Hearing a public interest litigation initiated by the court itself (suo motu), the division bench of acting Chief Justice Jayant Patel and Justice V M Pancholi asked the committee to submit its report within three months.
The committee would comprise the state secretaries of health, energy, industries-mines and labour departments, doctors, factory inspectors, officials of Gujarat Pollution Control Board, National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH) and registrars of the respective district courts.

The Supreme Court had last year asked the High Courts to ascertain whether the thermal power plants in the states under their jurisdiction were complying with the safety standards and the norms related to the health of employees.
The Gujarat HC took up the matter accordingly.
The committee would conduct a health check for every worker to find out if he or she is suffering from occupational health disorders such as silicosis and asbestosis which occur commonly among those who work in such plants.
It would see whether the management and the government regularly carries out comprehensive health check-ups for workers and if the workers are provided with safety equipment.

The committee would also check if the management is providing free medical treatment and compensation to the workers which they are entitled to under the law if they acquire an occupational ailment.