As many as 400 people have died while undertaking hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks since 2017, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale said in Lok Sabha on Tuesday, December 13. Responding to a question on the number of deaths due to manual scavenging (which is a banned practice), however, Athawale said that no such deaths have been reported this year.
Amroha MP Kunwar Danish Ali and Betul MP Durga Das Uikey raised the questions in Lok Sabha. Kunwar had asked four questions related to manual scavenging: if a large number of workers have died while cleaning septic tanks in the country during the current year; total number of manual scavenging workers who died during the last five years and the current year; reasons behind the workers’ pitiable conditions; and steps taken by the government to stop the deaths of workers while cleaning sewage and septic tanks.
The minister, in his reply, said that the government has “taken a serious note” of the deaths of those forced to clean septic tanks and sewers, and violations of safety precautions as prescribed under Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Rules, 2013. He also added that his ministry has formulated "National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem" (NAMASTE) particularly to stop deaths of Sewers and Septic Tank Workers (SSWs). “NAMASTE intends to formalize the system of cleaning of sewers and septic tanks operations so that only trained workers are engaged in cleaning of sewers and septic tanks and no person loses life due to hazardous cleaning,” he said.
However, the minister also provided a list of the number of deaths due to hazardous cleaning of septic tanks and sewers recorded since 2017. According to the data, 48 deaths were recorded in 2022 (highest in Haryana - 13); 49 deaths in 2021; 19 in 2020; 117 in 2019; 67 in 2018 and 100 in 2017.
Durga Das had also asked four questions:the number of deceased manual scavengers and details of the amount distributed as compensation to their families; amount distributed under Self-Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS); government’s mechanism to ensure the distribution and use of safety equipment among sanitation workers; and initiatives taken by the Government to mechanize the cleaning of sewers and septic tanks.
“No death has been reported due to engaging in Manual Scavenging (which is lifting of human excreta from insanitary latrines as defined in Section 2(1) (g) of the MS Act, 2013). However, 233 persons have died due to accidents while undertaking hazardous cleaning of sewer and septic tanks during the last three years and current year,” the Minister said in his reply.
In the reply, he also mentioned that of the 48 deaths in 2022, 43 families have been compensated.
On paper, manual scavenging has been illegal since 1993. However, the number of deaths due to this inhumane practice has not seen a major dip in recent years, due to the lack of enforcement of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, along with government initiatives to provide alternate livelihoods to the sanitation workers. Activists also allege that the cleaning works undertaken in septic tanks are not considered as manual scavenging by the government, and that they do not receive compensation and rehabilitation under the aforementioned law.
(With PTI inputs)