Putin orders government to work on closing dangerous coal mines

MOSCOW, Jan 10 (PRIME) -- President Vladimir Putin has ordered the government to work out measures before May 1 to terminate works of highly dangerous coal mines gradually, the Kremlin said in a list of orders published on January 3.

The measures should take into account the consequences of these suspensions for the Russian economy and the social sphere, the ruling read.

He also ordered the government to amend the Administrative Code to allow the law enforcers to suspend operations of the coal mines that fail to comply with the safety regulations, and to introduce punishment for the government for the failure to issue orders to eliminate safety violations at the coal mines on time after inspection. The deadline is January 1, 2023.

Putin also ordered the government to create financial mechanisms to guarantee liquidation or preservation of mines until August 1, 2022.

The government will also have to control compliance of coal companies with the sectorial agreement, and report annually to the Prosecutor General’s Office on the compliance.

Until March 1, 2022, the government is to analyze fulfillment of its orders issued after the incidents at the Raspadskaya and Severnaya coal mines.

Putin ordered the government to consider raising compensations from the owners of dangerous facilities to their employees, to introduce regulations for aerologic safety at the mines, ensure utilization of bodycams during state inspections of dangerous facilities, and work out administrative punishment for the oversight authorities after incidents at the facilities they regulate.

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