Shaitaan Malsing of Maandli village in Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh, is just 40 years old, but he can hardly walk a few steps without panting and stumbling. The frail man lies on a cot the entire day. In the past two months, he has consumed a whole range of pills — allopathic, homeopathic, ayurvedic — and tried various home remedies. But his condition continues to deteriorate.

Malsing is a victim of silicosis — a deadly disease that leads to slow degradation of lung tissues following long exposure to silica dust. Like other landless folk in Jhabua, Malsing had migrated to Godhra, in neighbouring Gujarat, to work in a quartz crushing factory. Within six months of working there, he fell ill and returned to his village. Several others in his village suffered the same fate. Babu and Sundari perished within a few months of exposure to quartz dust. “I lost my children but didn’t get any compensation from the government, though we spent a huge amount of money on their treatment,” says their mother, Gamli, who now takes care of her grandchildren.

As many as 1,700 people across nearly 100 villages in three districts — Jhabua, Alirajpur and Dhar — are similarly afflicted. More than 500 people in the three districts have died due to silicosis, according to Amulya Nidhi of Swasthy Adhikar Manch, a network of healthcare organisations in Madhya Pradesh. Nidhi, who also works with MP’s Silicosis Peedit Sangh, says work at the quartz crushing factories requires heavy physical labour. Deep breathing fills the lungs of workers with dust particles and they develop symptoms like coughing, stomach pain, chest pain, weight loss and shortness of breath.

Most of the workers are tribals with minimal landholdings. They migrate in large numbers to the quartz crushing plants in Godhra and Balasinor. Paid daily wages of ₹100-200, they live in shanties near the factories.

The quartz powder manufactured at these units is supplied to glass, ceramic and other industries. According to a recent survey, 37 per cent of the workers become afflicted with silicosis within a year. “Crystalline silica exposure occurs during mining, stone crushing and quarrying. Workers inhale this fine silica dust, as factories don’t provide any protective kits,” says Nidhi.

Dhanraju S, who was CEO of Zila Panchayat Jhabua till July-end and involved in rehabilitation, explains, “We had compiled data of 200 affected in the district. The list was sent to the Centre. Under the Indira Awas Yojana, 68 beneficiaries were given ₹35,000 each. We also started giving pension under different schemes in special categories like physically challenged, but we couldn’t continue as the percentage of disability couldn’t be ascertained.” Dhanraju has now suggested that the State government should provide ₹150 a month to all silicosis-affected persons, under the Social Security Scheme.

Silicosis is one of the oldest occupational diseases, which has remained incurable. However, it is preventable. Though it is a notifiable disease under the Factory Act and qualifies for compensation under the Workers Compensation Act and ESI Act, workers fail to get it because they have no identity cards, ESI cards or other documents. Most of the factories in Godhra are covered by the ESI Act, but the owners deny employing silicosis-affected persons.

In response to the Supreme Court order of 2009 regarding compensation and rehabilitation, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) held several rounds of negotiations with the governments of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh, and obtained a list of silicosis-related deaths. In November 2010, the NHRC ordered the two States to pay ₹3 lakh each to the next of kin of the 238 deceased workers. It also recommended that the Madhya Pradesh government should rehabilitate the 304 silicosis-affected persons in the State.

In a report presented in Parliament, the NHRC said: “There are still some States like Gujarat from where a large number of confirmed cases have been reported but yet the State has adopted an extremely rigid and legalistic approach. They have not responded to the Commission’s show cause notice to give financial assistance to the families of those who have died of silicosis or are suffering from it.”

The silicosis matter is pending in the apex court and the next hearing is due in September.

The writer is a development journalist based in Delhi

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