Preventing Silicosis is Now a Human Rights Duty in India

Shambhavi Singh

In August 2024, the Supreme Court of India delivered a landmark ruling about silicosis (a preventable but incurable lung disease caused by silica dust exposure) finding failure to prevent the disease to be a violation of the Constitution’s article 21 on the right to life with dignity. The Court then directed the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to monitor silica-prone industries and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to oversee compensation schemes, turning the government’s approach to silicosis prevention and relief from aspirational to obligatory. This decision marked a decisive turning point in a decades-long struggle by activists and trade unions to secure recognition and justice for workers traditionally excluded from India’s formal legal system.

Silicosis is India’s most underreported occupational disease. Invisible silica dust particles, smaller than five microns, permanently scar lung tissue, and exposure is rampant in stone quarries, ceramics, slate-making, agate polishing, and stone-carving. Estimates suggest that over 52 million workers are currently at risk, up from 11.5 million in 2015–16, with prevalence rates reaching 79% in Rajasthan’s stone mines and 69% in Gujarat’s agate sector. Misdiagnosis as tuberculosis is common, and death certificates often omit silicosis, leaving vulnerable communities invisible.

Informal workers and systemic failure

Despite state policies such as Rajasthan’s 2015 mining policy (mandating wet drilling) and compensation frameworks under the Employees’ Compensation Act and Employees’ State Insurance Act, these safeguards rarely reach those most at risk. More than 80% of India’s workforce is informal, concentrated in unregistered or illegal units that evade inspections, under-report employees, and deny workers statutory benefits. Public awareness of the risks is limited and government responses have long been fragmented.

International norms draw a stark contrast. The World Health Organization/International Labour Organization Joint Estimates on the Work-related Burden of Diseases and Injury Report identifies silicosis as a leading occupational killer, and ILO Convention No. 161 requires workplace health surveillance and regulatory oversight. India’s statutes nominally align with these standards but remain largely ineffective without enforcement.

From compensation to constitutional duty

The Supreme Court’s engagement with silicosis has evolved over decades. In 1996 in the Chinchurgheria Silicosis Victims case, the Court ordered ₹1 lakh (about US $1100) in compensation per deceased worker at an unregistered stone-crushing unit, marking the first judicial recognition of silicosis deaths in the informal sector.

In 2016, acting on NHRC findings, the Supreme Court in People’s Rights and Social Research Centre (PRASAR) v. Union of India anchored silicosis under Article 21, directing states to conduct district-wide surveys, certify every case, and provide ₹3 lakh (US $ 3300) compensation per family. Orders in 2017 tightened compliance, calling for audits, time-bound relief, and inspections by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), yet enforcement remained weak.

The 2024 landmark ruling

In PRASAR v. Union of India & Ors., the Supreme Court declared silicosis a fundamental rights violation and a breach of directive principles (Articles 39(e) and 42). The Court stressed that state inaction amounted to a denial of justice for India’s most marginalised workers.

The judgment directed the establishment of a national-level committee to coordinate detection and management, vigorous implementation of workplace safety norms, and timely compensation and rehabilitation under the supervision of state chief secretaries and the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation. It authorised the NGT to ensure environmental compliance and the NHRC to supervise compensation delivery. Citing Occupational Health & Safety Association v. Union of India (2014), it reaffirmed that occupational health is a fundamental human rights obligation.

This judgement was a breakthrough and shifted prevention of silicosis from fragmented state schemes to a constitutionally enforceable duty backed by statutory watchdogs. It combined environmental control and human rights supervision to develop a multi-layered model of accountability to address one of the most ignored preventable diseases in India.

Momentum is now visible in the states. In August 2025, the Gujarat High Court in the case of People’s Training and Research Centre v State of Gujarat reinforced the instructions of the Supreme Court and imposed a minimum compensation of 3 lakh (US $3300), abandoned arbitrary deadlines, acknowledged claims by widows and migrants, and demanded a long term system of rehabilitation. This signals a growing shift from human rights on paper to implementation in practice, pushing states to deliver justice for silicosis victims.

The Supreme Court judgment is more than a directive—it is an indication of a structural change in how occupational health is regulated. By placing silicosis prevention and victim relief within the constitutional framework, the Court has established a model of environmental law, human rights protection, and workplace safety intersection. The Gujarat High Court guidelines reveal the effect of the ruling, compelling states to translate rights into tangible relief for workers. Once invisible to the Indian legal environment, silicosis has now become a model of how to hold the State liable in cases of preventable harm, and a test of whether constitutional promises of dignity can extend to India’s most vulnerable workers.

 Shambhavi Singh, BA, LLB, is a lawyer practising at the Supreme Court of India