35. Appointment of officials and competent persons.
(1)The owner, agent or manager shall appoint such number of competent persons, including officials and technicians as is sufficient to secure, during each of the working shifts -(i)adequate inspection of the mine and equipment thereof;(ii)a thorough supervision of all operations in the mine;(iii)the installation, running and maintenance, in safe working order, of all machinery in the mine; and(iv)the enforcement of the requirements of the Act and rules and regulations framed thereunder.(2)Without prejudice to the requirement of sub-regulation (1), where the mine is worked on more than one shift, the owner, agent or the manager shall arrange that during the afternoon shift and the night shift, the mine is under the general supervision of at least an assistant manager, and of an experienced overman in other cases.(3)It shall be the responsibility of the manager to see that the persons so appointed are competent to perform the duties assigned to them:Provided that no person shall be so appointed unless he is paid by the owner or agent and is answerable to the manager:Provided further that the Chief Inspector under special circumstances may vary the requirements of this sub-regulation by an order in writing.(4)Copies of all appointments made under sub-regulation (1) shall be entered in a bound-paged book kept for the purpose where a list of all such competent persons shall be maintained.(5)Without prejudice to the requirements of sub-regulation (3), every manager on taking over charge of a mine, shall satisfy himself that all persons already appointed under sub-regulation (1) are competent to perform the duties assigned to them; and if he finds them competent, he shall either countersign their authorisations or issue fresh ones.
