HC seeks state govt's reply onmanual scavenger deaths in Raj
Jaipur: A division bench of the Rajasthan High Court Friday sought response from the state govt on the rise in deaths due to manual scavenging despite legal restrictions on the practice.
On Thursday, three workers died while cleaning a septic tank at a wool mill in Bikaner's Mukta Nagar. It took the police nearly 35 hours to file an FIR. The Rajasthan State Human Rights Commission stepped in and took suo motu cognisance of the incident.
Justices Inderjeet Singh and Anand Sharma issued notices to the additional chief secretary of social justice and empowerment department, the principal secretary of local self-governance department, and the Rajasthan Safai Karamchari Commission.
Petitioner Snehansh Foundation called for establishing a senior-level monitoring committee for regular reporting, overseeing implementation procedures, enforcing penalties for violations, and revealing district-specific fund allocations for scavengers' safety.
The petitioner's counsel Palak Saxena said at least 11 deaths of manual scavengers were reported in Rajasthan since March, when the PIL was filed.
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"Recent incidents have underscored the severity of the issue. On May 22, three workers suffocated to death cleaning a septic tank at a woollen garments' mill in Bikaner. On May 15, five workers got trapped inside a septic tank in the Deeg region of Rajasthan. One died and four others are critical. In April 2025, two sanitation workers, one a minor, lost their lives cleaning the sewer line at a paper mill in Alwar. In Oct 2024, three Dalit Valmiki men died cleaning a sewage line in Fatehpur, Rajasthan," Saxena told the court.
The tragedies commonly reflect a systemic failure, as there is a consistent lack of mandatory safety gear, masks, and equipment, the petitioner said, seeking a mandamus to the state govt to constitute a committee to monitor the area and submit periodical reports. The govt was also requested to submit district-wise funds allocated for the safety of manual scavengers.
"We have sought the court's intervention in the ineffective implementation of existing laws. The failure to provide essential protective equipment directly contributed to these fatalities," Saxena added.
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