MANUAL SCAVENGING: IS IT REALLY BANNED?
Definition: Manual scavenging is defined as “the removal of human
excrement from public streets and dry latrines, cleaning septic tanks, gutters
and sewers”.
Concerns:
As per the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK),
a total of 631 people have died in the country while cleaning
sewers and septic tanks in the last 10 years.
2019 saw the highest number of manual scavenging
deaths in the past five years. 110 workers were killed while
cleaning sewers and septic tanks.
This is a 61% increase as compared to 2018, which saw 68
cases of such similar deaths.
Despite the introduction of several mechanised systems for
sewage cleaning, human intervention in the process still
continues.
As per data collected in 2018, 29,923 people are engaged in manual
scavenging in Uttar Pradesh, making it the highest in any State in
India.
Social Issue: The practice is driven by caste, class and income divides.
It is linked to India’s caste system where so-called lower castes are
expected to perform this job.
The law has ended manual scavenging as a form of employment, however,
the stigma and discrimination associated with it still linger on.
The stigma and discrimination associated with manual
scavenging makes it difficult for liberated manual scavengers to
secure alternative livelihoods.
INITIATIVES
The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment will amend the law for
making machine cleaning mandatory, whereas the Ministry of Housing and
Urban Affairs has launched the Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge.
Amending the Law: Introduction of ‘The Prohibition of Employment as
Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation (Amendment) Bill,
2020’ as a part of Social Justice and Empowerment Ministry’s National
Action Plan.
The Bill makes following important changes:
Mechanised Cleaning: The Bill proposes to completely mechanise sewer
cleaning and provide better protection at work and compensation in case of
accidents.
Penalty: The Bill proposes to make the law banning manual scavenging
more stringent by increasing the imprisonment term and the fine amount.
Currently, engaging any person for hazardous cleaning of sewers
and septic tanks by any person or agency is punishable
with imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to Rs. 5
lakh or both.
Funds: The funds will be provided directly to the sanitation workers and
not to the municipalities or contractors to purchase the machinery.
Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge:
Launch: The challenge has been launched among 243 major cities on
the World Toilet Day (19th November).
Aim: To prevent hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks and
promote their mechanized cleaning.
The Government launched this “challenge” for all states to make
sewer-cleaning mechanised by April 2021 — if any human needs
to enter a sewer line in case of unavoidable emergency, proper gear
and oxygen tanks, etc., are to be provided.
Related Initiatives:
The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their
Rehabilitation Act, 2013 prohibits construction or maintenance of insanitary
latrines, and employment of any person for manual scavenging or hazardous
cleaning of sewers and septic tanks.
It also provides measures for rehabilitation of persons identified
as manual scavengers by a Municipality.
In 2014, a Supreme Court order made it mandatory for the government to
identify all those who died in sewage work since 1993 and provide Rs. 10
lakh each as compensation to their families.
In 1993, the Government of India enacted the Employment of Manual
Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act which
prohibited the employment of manual scavengers for manually cleaning dry
latrines and also the construction of dry toilets (that do not operate with a
flush).
In 1989, the Prevention of Atrocities Act became an integrated guard for
sanitation workers; more than 90% people employed as manual scavengers
belonged to the Scheduled Caste. This became an important landmark to
free manual scavengers from designated traditional occupations.
Article 21 of the Constitution guarantees ‘Right to Life’ and that also with
dignity.
Way Forward
Proper Identification: States need to accurately enumerate the workers
engaged in cleaning toxic sludge.
Empowering Local Administration: With Swachh Bharat
Mission identified as a top priority area by the 15th Finance Commission,
and funds available for smart cities and urban development providing for a
strong case to address the problem of manual scavenging.
Social Sentisitation: To address the social sanction behind manual
scavenging, it is required first to acknowledge and then understand how and
why manual scavenging continues to be embedded in the caste system.
Need For a Stringent Law: If a law creates a statutory obligation to provide
sanitation services on the part of state agencies, it will create a situation in
which the rights of these workers will not hang in the air.
MAYANK KHAITAN
