In the ongoing Monsoon Session of the Parliament, the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, while answering a question on the status of manual scavenging in the country on July 26, mentioned that there is no report which informs about the district-wise number of manual scavengers in the country.
Manual scavenging refers to the inhuman practice of manually cleaning, handling, and disposing of human excreta and other waste materials from dry latrines, drains, and sewage tanks.
“There is no report of practice of manual scavenging in any districts. We have requested all districts either to declare themselves free from manual scavenging or upload the data of insanitary latrine and manual scavengers associated with it on “Swachhta Abhiyan” mobile app. However, no credible data has been uploaded on the app so far,” Ramdas Athawale, the Union Minister of Social Justice and Empowerment, told Rajya Sabha.
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India has banned the practice of manual scavenging in the country under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013. However, even a decade after the legislation to ban manual scavenging was put in effect, reports of deaths of manual scavengers while undertaking the sanitisation of manholes have been making headlines.
Meanwhile, Athawale said that two surveys have been conducted at the initiative of the ministry he helms for the identification of manual scavengers in 2013 and 2018 respectively.
In an annexure attached by the Union ministry in the official reply, it was mentioned that out of the 766 districts in the country, 530 districts have reported themselves as manual scavenging free. Also, according to the ministry, a total of 58,098 manual scavengers were officially counted in the country in a survey conducted in 2018. However, while talking to Gaon Connection, Bezwada Wilson, a Delhi-based social activist and national convenor of Safai Karmachari Andolan, which works for the interests of manual scavengers, stated that the Union government’s claim of 530 districts having eradicated the practice of manual scavenging is false.
As per a list compiled by the Safai Karmachari Andolan, between 2018-2023 so far, a total of 396 manual scavengers have died while cleaning sewage in 18 states and Union Territories.
“It is completely false news [sic]. We have proper data of the number of deaths of manual scavengers with us. Government should do a re-survey and then talk about the numbers. Manual scavenging is still happening in the states like Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, parts of Bihar, Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir,” Wilson told Gaon Connection.
Expert miffed at government’s reply
Wilson further mentioned that during the nine years of this government’s rule, it hasn’t done much for the welfare of the manual scavengers. “They have spent two lakh crores on Swachh Bharat Abhiyan but haven’t provided money to the manual scavengers. In the rehabilitation scheme for the manual scavengers, there is a provision for cash assistance which should be given to them but it hasn’t been released for five years,” the activist added.
On the deployment of manhole-cleaning machines, Wilson highlighted the paradoxical nature of the country’s development and said, “There should be some prototype for it which could be used across India. Government is making Chandrayan go to the Moon but can’t help the manual scavengers in the country. India is a developing country but it’s a shame that we don’t have any solutions for the problem of manual scavenging”.
