A report on Manual Scavengers & Sewage Workers

A report on Manual Scavengers & Sewage Workers

Anita Ujjainwal, President of Bhartiya Nagrik Manch presented a research report with a meeting delegation to the Chief Minister of Delhi, Shri Arvind Kejriwal ji, in which he had given instructions on the condition and direction of manual scavengers and requested that your government should provide manual for the rehabilitation of manual scavengers. According to the Scavenger Act, concrete steps have to be taken so that manual scavengers can be saved and manual scavengers can join the mainstream because till now no government has taken any concrete steps for manual scavengers under the Manual Scavenger Act,

Presenting the report of Anita Ujjainwal, President of Bhartiya Nagrik Manch (Indian Citizen Forum).

Recommendations for Prohibition of employment as manual scavenger & Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers & Sewage Workers

Submitted to

Hon’ble Chair Person

Shri Arvind Kejriwal

State Monitoring Committee,

The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers & their Rehabilitation Act, 2013

Govt. of NCT of Delhi,

By:

Anita Ujjainwal

President Bhartiya Nagrik Manch

16/12 Trilok Puri New Delhi 110091, Phone :9268378100

Introduction & Background

As par act, Manual Scavenger means a person engaged or employed by an individual or a local authority or a public or private agency, for manually cleaning, carrying, disposing of, or otherwise handling in any manner, human excreta in an insanitary latrine or in an open drain or pit into which human excreta from insanitary latrines is disposed of, or on a railway track, before the excreta fully decomposes.

Manual Scavengers are usually self employed or contract employees. “Self employed” means a person who scavenges a group of households” dry latrines or drains etc. in a particular ward, for payment in cash and/or in kind, by the house-owners. Contract employees would normally be those who are hired through contractors, by a municipal body or any other organization or a group of house owners, to scavenge individual or community dry latrines,

Present Status

There are 1.2 million scavengers in the country are involved in the Sanitation work.[1] The working conditions of these sanitary workers have remained unchanged for over a century. Between 2002 and 2003, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment admitted to the existence of 676,000 scavengers.

The situation persists despite the fact that the Employment of Manual Scavengers and construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993 is enforced in the country. Since 1 January 2017, on an average one person has died every five days while cleaning sewers and septic tanks across the country[2]. In National capital region of Delhi in last few months several deaths has taken place. For instance, from Dabari to Lajpat Nagar many sewage deaths had happened. STP death happened in areas like Anand Vihar Mall, LNJP Hospital and DLF Moti Nagar.Taj Vivanta Lodi Road, Indira Gandhi Rashtriy Kala Kendra Ashoka Raod, Most of the Municipalities in India are not equipped with the latest machines to clean the sewage system and therefore, sewage workers employed under compulsion to enter the underground sewerage lines through the manholes and cleanse them wherever the lines are clogged for whatever reason. The working conditions of the sewage workers are very dangerous; they are provided with a rope and bucket to clean the manhole manually. The existing protective equipments are neither adequate nor up to the standard quality. Also, most of the sewage workers are not educated to use protective equipment’s.[3]

Besides social exclusion and atrocities they face, they are exposed to certain health problems because of their occupation. These includes exposure to harmful gases such as methane and hydrogen sulphide cardiovascular, musculoskeletal disorders, several types of infections like hepatitis, leptospirosis and helicobacter, skin problems, respiratory disorders etc. workers are commonly exposed to gases like hydrogen disulfide, methane, ammonia and carbon monoxide which leads to develop several acute to sub acute symptoms including sore throat, cough, chest tightness, breathlessness, thirst, sweating, irritability and loss of libido etc.

Most of the Safai Karamcharis and Sewage Workers doesn’t able to take retirement and the benefits like pension because of untimely death. Though the provision is there to extend job to next to the kin of deceased on compensatory ground but even after 10 to 15 years of long wait most of victim’s family member neither gets job nor pension and other benefits.

Budgetary provision for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers

The Delhi Govt. has allocated merely Rs. 1 Cr. under the scheme Implementation of Prohibition of employment as manual scavenger and their rehabilitation in the Department of Social Welfare while the total allocation under the Scheduled Castes Sub Plan is Rs. 1327.01 Cr. for the FY 2018-19.

The total budget allocation by the central Govt. for the FY 2018-19 is Rs. 55 Cr. which has mere increase of Rs. 2.47 Cr. in comparison to last year (FY 2017-18) where the allocation was 52.53 Cr.

The Government of India had come up with three broad schemes to rehabilitate the people involved in manual scavenging - Pre-Matric Scholarship for Children of those engaged in unclean occupations and prone to health hazards, Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers by Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment & National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation, Department of Social Justice and Empowerment.

a) Post Matric Scholarship for Children of those engaged in unclean occupations and prone to health hazards; under this scheme the students from class I-X are eligible to get Rs. 110 every month and class III - X Rs. 700.00 (hostlers) for 10 months. This scheme also lists some additional provisions of allowances for students amongst target groups with disabilities. In FY 2018-19, Govt. of India has allocated Rs. 5 Cr. which is slightly more than the previous financial year’s allocation of Rs. 2.70 Cr.

b) The Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation for Manual Scavengers (SRMS) is a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. The scheme was introduced in January 2007, to rehabilitate the identified manual scavengers in alternative professions by the end of FY 2008-09. The scheme was subsequently revised in November 2013. In FY 2018-19 the Govt. of India has allocated Rs. 20 Cr. to SRMS. The scheme provides one-time cash assistance (OTCA) of `Rs. 40,000.00 to the identified manual scavengers or their dependents.

c) National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC) have been designated as the Nodal Agency for implementation of the Central Sector Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS) under the aegis of the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment. It is an Apex Corporation for the all round socio-economic upliftment of the Safai Karamcharis, Manual Scavengers and their dependants across India, through various loan and non-loan based schemes. For the FY 2018-19 the Govt. of India has allocated Rs. 30 Cr. If a scavenger chooses to do sanitation related activity there is a procedure of seeking loan of Rs. 15 lac and for other activity they can only seek Rs. 5 lac.

Compensation in case of Death

A compensation of Rs. 10 lakh is to be provided to the manual scavenger's household in case of death related to sewer cleaning.

Recommendations

On the basis of the aforementioned statements the following suggestions are given which are taken from The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers & their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.

1. As per the section 11 of the act, to conduct Survey of manual scavengers in urban areas by Municipalities.— If any Municipality has reason to believe that some persons are engaged or employed in manual scavenging within its jurisdiction, the Chief Executive Officer of such Municipality shall cause a survey to be undertaken to identify such persons.

2. As per the section 13 of the act says, Rehabilitation of persons identified as manual scavengers by a Municipality.— (1) Any person included in the final list of manual scavengers published in pursuance of sub-section (6) of section 11 or added thereto in pursuance of sub-section (3) of section 12, shall be rehabilitated in the following manner, namely:— (a) he shall be given, within one month,—

(i) a photo identity card, containing, inter alia, details of all members of his family dependent on him, and

(ii) Such initial, one time, cash assistance, as may be prescribed;

(b) His children shall be entitled to scholarship as per the relevant scheme of the Central Government or the State Government or the local authorities, as the case may be;

(c) he shall be allotted a residential plot and financial assistance for house construction, or a ready-built house, with financial assistance, subject to eligibility and willingness of the manual scavenger, and the provisions of the relevant scheme of the Central Government or the State Government or the concerned local authority;

(d) he, or at least one adult member of his family, shall be given, subject to eligibility and willingness, training in a livelihood skill, and shall be paid a monthly stipend of not less than three thousand rupees, during the period of such training;

(e) he, or at least one adult member of his family, shall be given, subject to eligibility and willingness, subsidy and concessional loan for taking up an alternative occupation on a sustainable basis, in such manner as may be stipulated in the relevant scheme of the Central Government or the State Government or the concerned local authority;

(f) he shall be provided such other legal and programmatic assistance, as the Central Government or State Government may notify in this behalf.

(2) The District Magistrate of the district concerned shall be responsible for rehabilitation of each manual scavenger in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (1) and the State Government or the District Magistrate concerned may, in addition, assign responsibilities in his behalf to officers subordinate to the District Magistrate and to officers of the concerned Municipality.

3. As per the section 18, ensure duty of District Magistrate and authorised officers.—The District Magistrate and the authority authorised under section 18 or any other subordinate officers specified by them under that section shall ensure that, after the expiry of such period as specified for the purpose of this Act,—

(a) No person is engaged or employed as manual scavenger within their jurisdiction;

(b) No one constructs, maintains, uses or makes available for use, an insanitary latrine;

(c) Manual scavengers identified under this Act are rehabilitated in accordance with section 13, or as the case may be, section 16;

(d) Persons contravening the provisions of section 5 or section 6 or section 7 are investigated and prosecuted under the provisions of this Act; and

(e) All provisions of this Act applicable within his jurisdiction are duly complied with.

4. As per the section 20 of the act, Appoint an inspector.

5. As per the Section 28 of the act, constitute a Central Monitoring Committee

6. As per the section 30 of the act ensure Functions of the Central Monitoring Committee.

7. As per section 33 of the act, to use modern technology for cleaning of sewers, etc. It shall be the duty of every local authority and other agency to use appropriate technological appliances for cleaning of sewers, septic tanks and other spaces within their control with a view to eliminating the need for the manual handling of excreta in the process of their learning

This Report prepared by: Anita Ujjainwal, President Bhartiya Nagrik Manch ,16/12 Trilok Puri New Delhi 110091, Phone 9268378100

[1] Report Prepared by President Bhartiya Nagrik Manch. website : www.bhartiyanagrikmanch.com & Prasar Social Organization ,Delhi