Implementing anti-manual scavenging law: Safai Karamchari panel&#39;s 20-yr lag

Implementing anti-manual scavenging law: Safai Karamchari panel's 20-yr lag

By Jitendra Rathod*
The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 came into effect across India on 6th December, 2013. Meanwhile, honorable Supreme Court of India gave landmark judgment to identify and award compensation of Rs 10 lakh to dependents in deaths of sewerage workers who died while cleaning sewerage and septic tanks since 1993 and strictly implement the provisions of the Act of 2013 on 27th March, 2014.
But, central and state governments have not acted/implemented the provisions of the Act of 2013 and the landmark judgment of Supreme Court. Manual scavenging is being practiced and is increasing in cities due to lack of proper sanitation facilities. Besides, state governments are not serious to identify such deaths of manhole workers and award compensation as per the ruling of Supreme Court of India.
The Act of 2013 has section no 31 regarding the functions of National Commission for Safai Karmacharis. The Act says that,
“31. (1) The National Commission for Safai Karamcharis shall perform the following functions, namely: — (a) to monitor the implementation of this Act;
(b) to enquire into complaints regarding contravention of the provisions of this Act, and to convey its findings to the concerned authorities with recommendations requiring further action; and
(c) to advise the Central and the State Governments for effective implementation of the provisions of this Act.
(d) to take suo motu notice of matter relating to non-implementation of this Act.
(2) In the discharge of its functions under sub-section (1), the National Commission shall have the power to call for information with respect to any matter specified in that subsection from any Government or local or other authority.”
There are more than 200 spots in Ahmedabad city where sweepers are forced by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) to clean/handle/remove manually human excreta every day. We have details of 152 cases where manhole workers died while cleaning drainage in Gujarat since 1993. We approached the state government to award compensation of Rs 10 lakhs in 152 incidents as per the judgment of Supreme Court. So far no action has been taken by the state government in last 2 years in implementing the provisions of the Act of 2013 and awarding compensation of Rs 10 lakhs to the dependents of deceased 152 manhole workers.
I have filed a complaint on non-implementation of the Act of 2013 and its provisions to the National Commission for Safai Karmacharis on September 10, 2016. I visited the website of the commission. It was very disturbing to refer the website. The contents of the website are outdated (20 years):
Some highlights of the website are as follow:

It quotes 1991 census for Scheduled Castes (SCs) population.
It quotes the Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines Prohibition Act, 1993
It quotes Integrated Low Cost Sanitation Scheme (ILCS) and (ii) National Scheme for Liberation and Rehabilitation of Scavengers (NSLRS).
It quotes that “It is hoped that the obnoxious and inhuman practice of manual scavenging will be eradicated by 31 December 2007.”

In grievances there is nothing about manual scavenging in its website.
There is nothing about the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, the judgment of the Supreme Court to identify and award compensation of Rs 10 lakh, the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Rules 2013, the Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers(SRMS), as revised in November 2013, the system for redressing grievances, roles and responsibility of the Commission to ensure effective implementation of the Act of 2013 etc.
It is very disturbing and pathetic that the Commission, which is mandated to ensure effective implementation of the Act, is in non-performance. We hope that the Chairperson of Commission and Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment take the issue of manual scavenging seriously and set up a system to ensure that the provisions of the MS Act are effectively implemented and the inhumane practice of manual scavenging is prohibited from India.
—
*Senior activist, Janvikas, Ahmedabad

Comments

Manmade disaster? Infrastructure projects in, around Vadodara caused 'devastating' floods

Counterview Desk In a letter to local, Gujarat, and Indian authorities, several concerned citizens* have said that there has been devastating flood and waterlogging situation in Vadodara region since Monday 26th August 2024 which was "avoidable", stating, this has happened because of "multiple follies, flaws and fallacies across all levels of governance."

Everyone we meet is a teacher – if we only know how to connect the dots

By Dr Amitav Banerjee, MD* We observe Teacher's Day on 05 September every year. In my journey from being a student and later a teacher which of course involves being a life-long student, I have come across many teachers who have never entered the portals of a educational institution, in addition to those to whom we pay our respects on Teachers Day.

Labeled as social lending, peer-to-peer system is fundamentally profit-driven

By Bhabani Shankar Nayak The Sumerian civilisation, one of the earliest known societies, had sophisticated systems of lending, borrowing, credit, and debt. These systems were based on mutual trust and social currency, allowing individuals to engage in economic transactions without the need for physical money or barter. Instead, social bonds and communal trust underpinned these interactions, facilitating trade and the distribution of resources.

A Hindu alternative to Valentine's Day? 'Shiv-Parvati was first love marriage in Universe'

By Rajiv Shah* The other day, I was searching on Google a quote on Maha Shivratri which I wanted to send to someone, a confirmed Shiv Bhakt, quite close to me -- with an underlying message to act positively instead of being negative. On top of the search, I chanced upon an article in, imagine!, a Nashik Corporation site which offered me something very unusual.

Swami Vivekananda's views on caste and sexuality were 'painfully' regressive

By Bhaskar Sur* Swami Vivekananda now belongs more to the modern Hindu mythology than reality. It makes a daunting job to discover the real human being who knew unemployment, humiliation of losing a teaching job for 'incompetence', longed in vain for the bliss of a happy conjugal life only to suffer the consequent frustration.

Shared culture 'makes it easy' to talk about Indo-Pak friendship across the border in Punjab

By Sandeep Pandey* The Socialist Party (India) recently organized a India Pakistan Peace and Friendship March during 9 to 14 August, 2024 from Mansa to Atari-Wagha border in Amritsar District. Since the Modi government has come to power it has become difficult to cross the border otherwise it would have been a march going inside Pakistan as one was organized in 2005 between Delhi and Multan.

Will Bangladesh go Egypt way, where military ruler is in power for a decade?

By Vijay Prashad* The day after former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina left Dhaka, I was on the phone with a friend who had spent some time on the streets that day. He told me about the atmosphere in Dhaka, how people with little previous political experience had joined in the large protests alongside the students—who seemed to be leading the agitation. I asked him about the political infrastructure of the students and about their political orientation. He said that the protests seemed well-organized and that the students had escalated their demands from an end to certain quotas for government jobs to an end to the government of Sheikh Hasina. Even hours before she left the country, it did not seem that this would be the outcome.

Teachers in conflict zones displaying 'extraordinary commitment, courage' in the face of adversity

By Bharat Dogra* While the devastation of conflict and war zones often draws attention to the tragic loss of life, a less visible yet equally alarming crisis unfolds over time: the disruption of education. This turmoil poses a significant threat to the future prospects of children and their opportunities for growth.

'Historic': Battling jellyfish stings, fierce tides, Tanvi, mother of two, swam across English channel

By Harsh Thakor* On June 30, 2024, Tanvi Chavan Deore, a 33-year-old swimmer and mother of two from Nashik, Maharashtra, made headlines by becoming the first Indian mother to successfully swim across the English Channel. This grueling 42-kilometer stretch of water between the UK and France is widely regarded as one of the most challenging swimming feats in the world.

Search This Blog