Rajasthan has the highest number of mine leases (close to 35,000 mines, according to a 2015 report by the Department of Mines and Geology, Rajasthan), and has been at the centre of the silicosis debate in the country. A large number of its nearly 2.5 million mine-workers are under threat, with sandstone miners at even greater risk because sandstone has some of the highest quantities of silica. There were 125 confirmed cases of silicosis in Bundi in 2015, and 113 in 2016, according to government data. An occupational lung disease caused by inhaling silica dust found in rock, sand, quartz and other building materials, silicosis is incurable and deadly, but since it affects underprivileged mine workers, it remains unnoticed and mostly under-reported. Even though silicosis can be prevented through wet drilling and protective gear, most mines in Rajasthan are small-scale and unorganised, the workers are recruited informally, without contracts, and health and safety rules are not enforced. The mine owners get away with the least amount of culpability and do nothing to improve the work conditions.
Sunaina Kumar, 'Thereâs death in the air here: in a village in Rajasthan, silicosis caused by sand mining has reached epidemic-like levels', The Hindu
