{"id":49002,"date":"2025-07-23T20:51:26","date_gmt":"2025-07-23T15:21:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=49002"},"modified":"2025-07-29T12:33:59","modified_gmt":"2025-07-29T07:03:59","slug":"manual-scavenging-and-sewer-deaths-in-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/23-07-2025\/manual-scavenging-and-sewer-deaths-in-india","title":{"rendered":"Manual Scavenging and Sewer Deaths in India"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS1\/ Social Issues, GS2\/ Governance<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A recent Social Audit (2022\u201323) by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment revealed that over <strong>90%<\/strong> of sewer deaths occurred without safety gear or or personalised protective equipment (PPE) kits.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>What is Manual Scavenging?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Manual scavenging<\/strong> refers to the practice of manually cleaning, carrying, and disposing of human excreta from dry latrines, open drains, sewers, and septic tanks.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>It is a hazardous and degrading occupation that primarily affects marginalized communities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Why Manual Scavenging Continues to Exist in India?<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Lack of Alternatives: <\/strong>Limited access to education and job opportunities keeps people in manual scavenging.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Caste System: <\/strong>Deep-seated caste-based discrimination traps many in this occupation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Weak Law Enforcement: <\/strong>Inadequate implementation of anti-manual scavenging laws.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Inadequate Sanitary Infrastructure:<\/strong> Lack of modern sanitation systems necessitates manual cleaning.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) often lack trained personnel, mechanized equipment, and funds to modernize sanitation infrastructure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Economic Factors:<\/strong> Cheap labour costs make manual scavenging financially attractive.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Constitutional and Legal Dimensions<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Constitutional Provisions:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Article 21:<\/strong> Right to life with dignity includes the right to safe working conditions.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Article 23:<\/strong> Prohibits forced labour, applicable in cases where workers are coerced into hazardous cleaning without alternatives.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Article 42:<\/strong> Directs the state to ensure just and humane conditions of work.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Legal Framework:<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013:<\/strong> Bans manual scavenging and mandates rehabilitation of affected persons.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Supreme Court (Safai Karamchari Andolan v. Union of India, 2014) <\/strong>ordered compensation of \u20b910 lakh for each sewer\/septic tank death and held the state liable.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Initiatives Taken Against Manual Scavenging<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The government has formulated the <strong>NAMASTE scheme or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/namaste-scheme\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/blog\/namaste-scheme\/\">National Action Plan for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem<\/a> <\/strong>in an effort to stop deaths due to hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Swachh Bharat Abhiyan:<\/strong> Aims to promote sanitation and reduce manual scavenging.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Rashtriya Garima Abhiyaan:<\/strong> National Campaign focused on eradicating the dehumanizing practice of manual scavenging and ensuring comprehensive rehabilitation for manual scavengers throughout India.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Bandicoot robot<\/strong>, is India&#8217;s first indigenous<strong> manhole-cleaning robot<\/strong>, introduced in <strong>Kerala in 2018<\/strong>. In 2023, Kerala became the first Indian state to fully robotize manhole cleaning.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>ILO Guidelines: <\/strong>Call for decent work conditions, safety, training, and social security for sanitation workers.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Complete Mechanization of Sanitation Work:<\/strong> Mandate use of modern machines for sewer and septic tank cleaning under the NAMASTE scheme, with dedicated funding and training.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Strengthening Urban Local Bodies (ULBs): <\/strong>Equip ULBs with trained staff, adequate funds, and equipment to modernize sanitation systems and eliminate dependence on manual cleaning.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Maintain real-time data<\/strong> on sanitation workers and sewer deaths with periodic audits and independent monitoring to ensure transparency and policy response.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/in-over-90-of-sewer-deaths-workers-had-no-safety-gear-government-audit\/article69842638.ece#:~:text=Over%2090%25%20of\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>TH<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<h3><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">A recent Social Audit (2022\u201323) by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment revealed that over 90% of sewer deaths occurred without safety gear or or personalised protective equipment (PPE) kits.<\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<h3><strong>Why Manual scavenging continues to exist in India?<\/strong><\/h3>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Lack of Alternatives: Limited access to education and job opportunities keeps people in manual scavenging.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Caste System: Deep-seated caste-based discrimination traps many in this occupation.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Weak Law Enforcement: Inadequate implementation of anti-manual scavenging laws.<\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\">Inadequate Sanitary Infrastructure: Lack of modern sanitation systems necessitates manual cleaning.<\/li>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/23-07-2025\/manual-scavenging-and-sewer-deaths-in-india\" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read\u00a0More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-49002","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49002","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=49002"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49002\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":49505,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/49002\/revisions\/49505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=49002"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=49002"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=49002"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}