Manual scavenging

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Context:

The country has 58,098 manual scavengers and 42,594 of them belong to the Scheduled Castes, the government has told Parliament.

Key Data

• The Minister of State of Social Justice and Empowerment said that a number of surveys on manual scavengers in the country have been carried out according to the provisions of the manual scavenging Act, 2013.
• These surveys have confirmed a disproportionately large number of manual scavengers from Scheduled Castes alone.
• According to this data, 431 manual scavengers are OBCs, 421 are from Scheduled Tribes and 351 manual scavengers belong to the “Others’’ category.
• The ministry said the government is implementing a central employment scheme for rehabilitation of manual scavengers which provides a one-time cash assistance of Rs 40,000, and skill training for the person and their dependents with a stipend of Rs 3,000 per month for the period of their training.
• It also provides for capital subsidy of Rs 5 lakh for those who have taken loans for self-employment projects and health insurance under Ayushman Bharat for scavengers and their families.
• The ministry said the one-time cash payment has been given to all manual scavengers in the country.
• It said that 18,199 have been given skill training and 1,562 capital subsidies.
• Manual scavenging had been banned in 2013, with the provision that no one could be employed as one from that date.

The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation (PEMSR) Act, 2013:

• • Prohibits Manual Scavenging: The law prohibits employing manual scavengers, manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks without protective equipment and construction of insanitary latrines.
  • Punishment for violating the law:
    1. Those violating the law and getting sewers and septic tanks cleaned without protective equipment can face imprisonment of up to two years or a fine of up to Rs 2 lakh, or both.
    2. Repeat offenders will face imprisonment of up to five years or a fine of up to Rs 5 lakh, or both.

Challenges: Despite all these efforts, Manual Scavenging is still practiced across India and deaths due to cleaning of sewers are increasing as per the recent data.

Way forward

• A national policy for mechanised sanitation ecosystem: Had been formulated by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, which included professional training for mechanised cleaning of sewers and setting up a sanitation response unit in each municipality.
• Workshops to raise awareness: All civic bodies need to  hold workshops to raise awareness on this issue in their respective jurisdiction.
• Adoption of latest technology: For example, Bandicoot.
• Setting accountability of authorities: For example local bodies in urban and rural areas, contractors etc.
• Rehabilitation: Should be the priority of the government to provide alternative livelihood options to those engaged in manual scavenging.

The Indian Express link-

https://indianexpress.com/article/india/athawale-in-parliament-73-31-of-manual-scavengers-from-scheduled-castes-7653092/

Question- Manual scavenging still exists in the country despite being illegal. Suggest measures which can help to prevent it.