In a recent order, the Madras High Court lamented the continuation of manual scavenging despite several court interventions. On April 29, Chief Justice Sanjay V Gangapurwala and Justice Sathya Narayana Prasad condemned the ‘dehumanising practice’, saying that it continues because of “deep-rooted social norms, caste-based discrimination, and systemic failures”. Additionally, the court, in an important move, widened the definition of the word ‘sewer’ under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013, to include storm water drains.
“The persistence of manual scavenging is a stark reminder of the deep-rooted inequalities and discrimination that continue to pervade our society, perpetuating the cycle of poverty, oppression, and exclusion faced by marginalised groups,” the court said.
The court was hearing a petition filed by Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA) seeking the eradication of manual scavenging in Tamil Nadu and effective implementation of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013. SKA is a movement working towards the eradication of manual scavenging in India. The court said that it would not dispose of the petition but pass orders in the matter.
At the outset, the court observed that the practice of manually cleaning human waste without any protective gear is a grave violation of human rights. Attributing the continuation of the practice to casteism and systemic failures, the court said, “The lack of effective enforcement mechanisms and social awareness further perpetuate the problem, allowing manual scavenging to thrive in the shadows of society.”
The judges observed that continuation of manual scavenging practice “is nothing less than State sanctioned casteism in complete contravention of Constitutional ethos”.
“Forcing a work upon a person against his health, dignity and that of his family despite there being machinery available needs to be done away with. No bureaucratic red tape or claims of lack of funds can be an acceptable justification for not ensuring a life of health and dignity to the affected class of persons. This is nothing less than an extension of the notion of ritualistic purity and there needs to be a mind-shift change in the soul of the people (sic)” the bench remarked.
The court further said that the State was responsible for the implementation of the law. “The buck starts and stops with the State. The Court being a protector and guarantor of fundamental rights, cannot be a mute spectator in such cases and allow a generational condemnation of an oppressed class to a life of poverty, ill-health, and indignity in complete disregard of their fundamental rights enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution of India.”
Senior Advocate Srinath Sridevan, who represented SKA, argued that the local bodies and officials escape culpability in manual scavenging deaths by saying that they were cleaning a ‘storm water drain’ and not sewage. Accepting this contention, the court said that the definition of “‘sewer’ will have to be read down to also include persons who are required to enter the pipes for clearing waste matter and drainage wastes. The same would also be extended to that extent to the storm water drains.”
The court said that manual scavenging must be fully eradicated, at least in a phased manner, by 2026, and added that more deterrent action should be taken in cases of manual scavenging. It ordered that an FIR should be lodged against the head of the concerned local body, stating that filing cases against contractors is not sufficient. “Currently, FIRs are being filed only in cases of deaths. That too, it is done by identifying a convenient scapegoat, typically a lowly employee of the contractor. The heads of the local bodies get away scot-free. There is no disincentive for such persons,” the court said.
The court said that in the case of a death or disability due to manual scavenging, an FIR must be filed against the following persons:
Commissioner, if the incident is within a City Municipal Corporation. If it is in Chennai, senior officers of the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board must also be booked.
Municipal Commissioner, if the incident is within a Municipality.
Commissioner of Panchayat Union, if the incident is within a Panchayat.
Further, the bench directed that all septic tanks must be cleaned only through the local body at least once a year and recorded in a register, and they must have a dedicated officer to attend to septic tank cleaning.
The HC also issued the following guidelines:
Take stringent action against those employing persons for manual scavenging.
Provide protective and safety equipment, in accordance with the Act, in case of using manual scavengers for sanitary works.
Ensure that clearing of sewer, septic tank, storm water drains etc. is completely mechanised.
Ensure strict implementation and compliance of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.
Sensitise sanitary workers and manual scavengers on the perils of manual scavenging; and about the prohibition, legislative provisions, and various schemes/initiates available for their rehabilitation and skill development for alternative employment.
In order to rehabilitate manual scavengers, they must be provided employment in the Group-IV posts according to their qualification by the government.
Manual scavengers should be given free health check ups in government hospitals and primary health centres.
State government should ensure that there is adequate equipment to clear sewers. It should give the details to a committee having expertise in urban planning and decide the scientific ratio of equipment required per kilometre of sewer.
The compensation for deaths due to manual scavenging, which was fixed at Rs 30 lakh in January 2024, may be increased once in three years.
The compensation for persons who died from 2017 till now shall be increased from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 20 lakh and be paid to the heir of the deceased.
The compensation amount was increased by the Supreme Court in October 2023, when Justice S Ravindra Bhat, in a scathing judgement, came down on the government for not maintaining proper data of manual scavenging deaths or the number of manual scavengers. The court said that the data collected by the government is “inconsistent and contradictory” and added that not providing minimum protective gear and cleaning devices to hazardous workers amounts to forced labour.
Read TNM’s award-winning series, Exposing Manual Scavenging, here.