No reports of manual scavenging received from States, UTs: Govt
Responding to a question in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Athawale said that the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, had banned manual scavenging with effect from December 6, 2013.
Also read |The ugly truths of manual scavenging
Despite long-standing concerns raised by activists and independent watchdogs over continued instances of manual scavenging-related deaths, Mr. Athawale said, "No report of the practice of manual scavenging has been received from States/UTs." However, in response to another question, Mr. Athawale said the Ministry had commissioned a social audit in September 2023 to study sanitation worker deaths.
The audit examined 54 death cases that occurred in 2022 and 2023 across 17 districts in eight States, including four Districts of Maharashtra — Mumbai, Pune, Parbhani and Satara.
The audit revealed that these deaths occurred due to hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks and the non-observance of safety procedures laid out under the 2013 Act and corresponding rules. The State and UT governments have been asked to investigate such deaths and take action under Section 7 of the Act against those responsible for engaging workers in prohibited activities.
To address this, the Government launched the National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) scheme in 2023–24 in convergence with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
The initiative aims at ensuring the safety and dignity of sewer and septic tank workers across all Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) and empowering them socially and economically.
The scheme includes the provision of PPE kits, Ayushman Bharat-PMJAY health cards, occupational safety training, safety devices for Emergency Response Sanitation Units (ERSUs), capital subsidies for sanitation machinery and workshops to prevent hazardous cleaning practices.
In a separate written response, Minister of State for Social Justice B.L. Verma said the government is working to expand access to de-addiction services by setting up District De-addiction Centres (DDACs) in 291 districts identified as having no government-supported centres under the National Action Plan for Drug Demand Reduction (NAPDDR). An advertisement inviting proposals for setting up these centres has already been issued, Mr. Verma added.
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