CM directs DMs to identify, rehabilitate manual scavengers

Ananya Panda

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, September 24

Chief Minister (CM) Arvind Kejriwal has instructed the District Magistrates (DMs) to carry out a new survey to identify manual scavengers in their respective areas of the national capital.

Kejriwal — who chaired the first meeting of the state-level monitoring committee nine months after it was formed as per the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, — also directed SC/ST Welfare Minister Rajendra Pal Gautam to submit a report within a week on the delay in conducting the meeting that was supposed to be held once in six months to review the status of implementation of the annual scavenging and measures.

“As per the Act, the DMs have been directed to conduct a survey and prepare a list of people who are linked to manual scavenging to rehabilitate them. Provide them job in civil defence and train them. If the survey report indicates that there is no manual scavenger in the area in case of any death during manual cleaning of septic tank or sewer occurs under his jurisdiction, then the DM will be held responsible,” Gautam told reporters.

A report on the deaths of manual scavengers in the past five years have also been sought from the department concerned and assistant DMs (ADMs) have been told to try those who are responsible for deaths of sanitation workers during manual cleaning of sewers during the same period, Gautam added.

As a part of the survey, 45 manual scavengers have been identified in three districts and they will be rehabilitated as per the provisions of the Act. Jobs will be given to them in civil defence exempting the minimum criterion of being 10th qualified as directed by the CM.

Further, the minister said an SoP on how to carry out cleaning of sewers and tanks has been prepared and the tender has already been awarded for purchasing 200 machines to clean sewers.

Secretary (SC/ST Welfare) Rinku Dugga has also been directed to prepare a scheme for rehabilitation of family members of the deceased and manual scavengers within a week.

The directions come in the backdrop of six recent deaths of manual scavengers in two separate incidents in the capital highlighting the repeated failure of the agencies concerned in regulating manual cleaning of sewer and septic tanks banned by the anti-manual scavengers’ legislation.

Interestingly, a previous survey undertaken by the city authorities on identifying sanitation workers engaged in manual cleaning “was not up to the mark” with the number of people forced into manual scavenging in Delhi found to be dubious.

ADMs have been directed to ensure relief is provided to families as mandated by law and the defaulters are fined. Once the SoP will be implemented, all including those falling under private colonies/ firms will be required to seek approval from the government-approved agencies.