Delhi: Regulatory oversight, informal work arrangements flagged in report on deaths of sanitation workers

Indian Express

24-05-2025

Deaths of sanitation workers during hazardous sewer and septic tank cleaning operations have continued unabated across India despite a ban on manual scavenging and stringent legal provisions. Their plight was in focus on Friday during a workshop at the Constitution Club of India in Delhi, where rights groups, worker unions, and researchers came together to present a new fact-finding report.
The report, compiled and released by the Dalit Adivasi Shakti Adhikar Manch (DASAM), sheds a spotlight on a series of investigations into recent sanitation worker fatalities across urban and rural areas. One of the most recent cases documented was the death of two sanitation workers at a shopping mall in West Delhi earlier this year. The workers were reportedly hired by a private contractor to clean a sewage chamber without any safety gear or training. The report noted that no timely emergency response was available at the site, and rescue efforts were delayed.
Such incidents were not isolated, underlined the report, which included multiple case studies from Delhi-NCR — all pointing to a pattern of hazardous working conditions, informal subcontracting arrangements, and poor regulatory oversight.
The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, bans hazardous manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks, but the DASAM report showed that the practice continued under informal arrangements. Many workers were hired on a daily wage or contract basis through layers of subcontracting, with no job security, insurance, or safety protocol, as per the findings.
Activists called for revamping data collection mechanisms, noting that the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) and local authorities often underreported cases or provided incomplete information. The report recommends better coordination between police, civic bodies, and labour departments to ensure accountability and justice
Mohsina, a member of DASAM involved in the documentation process, said that systemic neglect by both municipal bodies and enforcement agencies lay at the heart of the problem. 'Apathy by government agencies as well as police officials had been evident during the follow-up of the incidents. While a few cases did not yield an FIR, some others were claimed to be pending because of incomplete investigations,' she said. The report noted that in many cases, contractors denied formal employment ties, which hampered the legal process and delayed compensation.
Hemlata Kansotia, National Convenor, National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRSAW), who has been working on sanitation workers' rights, pointed out that the problem extended beyond fatalities. 'Apart from deaths, health-related complications due to prolonged exposure to harmful gases remained undocumented,' she said, noting that such chronic issues were rarely covered in official reports. 'There was also a gap in the law to tackle this issue,' she added.
Kansotia pointed to an urban bias in public perception: 'In cities like Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai, the general notion was that to an extent the problem was resolved, but we were only seeing the visible issues in the city… Apart from this, septic tank-related cases in small cities and villages were invisibilised.'
Dharmendra Bhati, President, Municipal Workers Lal Janda Union, emphasised the need for systemic change within public utility bodies. 'Contractual workers needed to be made part of the regular employees and included in the payroll in the Delhi Jal Board,' he said, adding that without formal inclusion, workers remained vulnerable to exploitation and unsafe assignments.
The issue also had deep socio-cultural and psychological dimensions. Seema Mathur, professor at Delhi University, pointed out that 'identity' — especially caste and gender — played a key role in how sanitation workers were treated. 'The lack of social security and physiological nuances of the nature of work made it difficult for the female and male workers to affect their daily life,' she said, referring to the often-overlooked psychological toll of such hazardous and stigmatised work.
Dr. Sunilam, a veteran social activist, said that despite their essential role, sanitation workers were not prioritised in policymaking. 'The problem persisted due to no equipment, funds or priority given to the sanitation workers and their job,' he said. Highlighting their role during crises, he added, 'It was the farmers and the sanitation workers who were in the forefront, who did not shy away during the pandemic. Yet the public, who did not even step out during such calamities, ostracised them. The inherent solution lay in setting priorities and providing dignity.'
He further criticised the prevailing approach to sanitation worker deaths, calling it reactionary. 'In India, the compensation following the death of a sanitation worker was talked about, but nobody talked about how to prevent such deaths in the first place… indicating an indifferent approach.'