20. Safety officer in case of mines.- (1) At every mine, wherein one hundred or more workers are ordinarily employed, the employer shall appoint safety officer on a scale of one up to five hundred workers and an additional one for every additional five hundred workers or part thereof.

(2) The Safety Officers shall possess the qualifications, namely:-

(a) in case of coal mine-

(i) for belowground mines, person holding First Class Manager’s Certificate of Competency (Coal), granted by Directorate General of Mines Safety;

(ii) for opencast mines, person holding First Class Manager’s Certificate of Competency (Coal) or First Class Manager’s Certificate of Competency (Coal) restricted to mines having opencast workings only, granted by Directorate General of Mines Safety;

(b) in case of metalliferous mines-

(i) for belowground mines, person holding First Class Manager’s Certificate of Competency (Metal), granted by Directorate General of Mines Safety;

(ii) for opencast mines, a person holding a Manager’s Certificate of Competency (Metal) or a Manager’s Certificate of Competency (Metal) restricted to mines having opencast workings only, granted by the Directorate General of Mines Safety;

(c) in coal and metalliferous mines wherein more than one safety officer is appointed under sub-rule (1), a safety officer with degree in mechanical engineering may also be appointed, who shall report to the safety officer from mining engineering.

(d) In case of oil mines, a safety officer shall have a degree in engineering or in industrial safety from an educational institution recognised by the Central or State Government or post-graduate diploma in industrial safety from the Central Labour Institute or the Regional Labour Institutes under Directorate General of Occupational Safety and Health and having experience in the management or supervision of operations in oil mines for a period of not less than five years.