Relevance: GS-2: Welfare Schemes for Vulnerable Sections of the population by the Centre and States and the Performance of these Schemes; Mechanisms, Laws, Institutions and Bodies constituted for the Protection and Betterment of these Vulnerable Sections.

Key Phrases: Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (PEMSR), Dehumanizing Practice, Asphyxiation, Enforcement of Law, Safai Karamchari Andolan, Caste-Based Prejudice

Why in News?

• Three labourers in Mumbai, allegedly hired for manual scavenging, died recently, after inhaling toxic fumes in a septic tank. The incident took place while cleaning a public toilet.
• Even though manual scavenging is banned in India, the practice is still prevalent in many parts of the country.

What is Manual Scavenging?

Manual scavenging is the practice of removing human excreta by hand from sewers or septic tanks. India banned the practice under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (PEMSR).

• The Act bans the use of any individual for manually cleaning, carrying, disposing of or otherwise handling in any manner, human excreta till its disposal.
• In 2013, the definition of manual scavengers was also broadened to include people employed to clean septic tanks, ditches, or railway tracks.
• The Act recognizes manual scavenging as a “dehumanizing practice,” and cites a need to “correct the historical injustice and indignity suffered by the manual scavengers.”
• To eliminate this practice, the act has provisions for stringent penalties, for direct or indirect employment of any person in hazardous cleaning of sewers or septic tanks by any person, local authority or agency.
  • If a worker dies while performing such work, even with safety gear and other precautions, the employer is required to pay compensation of Rs 10 lakh to the family.

However, a lack of implementation has led to the continuation of the practice in several parts of the country. A 2019 study by the World Health Organization (WHO) said "weak legal protection and lack of enforcement" of the laws, as well as the poor financial status of sanitation workers, contributes to the practice still prevailing."

Status of Manual scavengers in India:

• The survey of manual scavengers in 2018 was conducted by the National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC) at the behest of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment. This survey, which found 87,913 manual scavengers in India, was only conducted in the statutory towns of 14 Indian states.
• Socio-Economic Caste Census of 2011 identified 1,82,505 households with the primary occupation of manual scavenging.
• As per the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) database, 608 manual scavengers have died between 2013 and 2017 while cleaning septic tanks.

The practice of manual scavenging has accursed Indian society since time immemorial. The efforts to abolish this custom have garnered momentum within the state machinery, advocacy groups and academia the last three decades, particularly since the constitution of the Safai Karamchari Andolan (SKA) in 1994.

Why is it still prevalent in India?

• Lack of enforcement of law: The lack of enforcement of the Act and exploitation of unskilled labourers are the reasons why the practice is still prevalent in India.
  • Despite such stringent provisions, hardly any action is visible on the ground — not a single FIR was filed in 2014, according to the 57th Standing Committee of Social Justice and Empowerment, 2017-2018.
• Manual scavenger: a cheap alternative: The Mumbai civic body charges anywhere between Rs 20,000 and Rs 30,000 to clean septic tanks. The unskilled labourers, meanwhile, are much cheaper to hire and contractors illegally employ them at a daily wage of Rs 300-500.
• Poverty and Pandemic: The pandemic has further escalated this crisis, not giving women manual scavengers a chance to escape the system due to increased demand and placements by private contractors and sub-letting agencies in rural areas.
• Caste-based prejudice: Caste-based prejudice has been normalised to such an extent that the plight of manual scavengers does not get the attention that it deserves.

Ambedkar had observed that “in India, a man is not a scavenger because of his work. He is a scavenger because of his birth irrespective of the question whether he does scavenging or not”.

Impact of manual scavenging:

• Social stigma: No one does this kind of work by choice. They are stuck in this profession, and their families suffer due to the social stigma and discrimination. They are trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty and social exclusion.
• Lives at risk: Manual scavengers are at risk of death from asphyxiation due to poisonous gases and are often exposed to diseases such as cholera, hepatitis, meningitis, jaundice, skin disorders and even cardiovascular diseases. They often lack access to proper safety gear and equipment.
• Exploitation of vulnerable section: Recently conducted survey shows that children below the age of 12 – especially girls – are now being employed as manual scavengers in local settlements for this work, through unknown middlemen.
  • More than 3,189 women working as manual scavengers have reported violence, beatings and rape threats.

  

Measures available:

• Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan: Indian government announced a slew of measures under the Swachh Bharat Abhiyaan (Clean India initiative) to end the discriminatory and hazardous practice of manual scavenging by August 2021.
  • There is push to provide toilets to every household across the country seeking to reduce defecation in the open.
• Use of technology: Some states including Delhi have launched the use of sewage cleaning machines for this purpose. Hyderabad is set to introduce rotometic sewer croc, sewer jetting and suction cleaning machines.
• Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge: aims to completely mechanise all septic and sewage tank cleaning operations in 243 cities across India, by April 30, 2021.
• The Self Employment Scheme for Liberation and Rehabilitation of Scavengers (SRMS): Have an objective of rehabilitating them and their dependents with alternative livelihoods.
  • The government scheme provides for one-time cash assistance of Rs 40,000, skill development training, and capital subsidy for self-employed projects.

Conclusion:

• The state and society needs to take active interest in the issue and look into all possible options to accurately assess and subsequently eradicate this practice. It also warrants an engagement of all stakeholders for the proper introduction of mechanisation and ensuring that it is made available to all those who are forced to engage in this undignified practice.

Sources: Indian Express

Mains Question:

Q. The practice of manual scavenging has accursed Indian society since time immemorial. Explain why it is still prevalent and what further measures should be adopted. [250 words].