A news story published in The Hindu on ‘justice eluding families of workers who died due to silicosis in Mahabubnagar district’ was taken up as Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by the Telangana High Court.
Directions were issued to the Telangana government and officials of its different departments, including the State Mineral Development Corporation, calling for records on the matter. The PIL would be heard by a division bench of the HC comprising Chief Justice Thottathil B. Radhakrishnan and Justicce A. Rajasheker Reddy on Tuesday.
The HC had already passed an order in 2013, after hearing a PIL filed in 2000, to declare the running of quartz mines by the then united Andhra Pradesh government at Elkatta and Chowlapally in Mahabubnagar district illegal. Nearly 400 labourers suffered diseases of silicosis and silico-tuberculosis as protective measures against silica dust were not taken.
Following the HC order, the then Advocate-General placed before the court a proposed scheme of paying compensation to the labourers. On January 5, The Hindu carried a detailed news story of how justice remained a distant dream for the families of workers who were affected by silicosis.
