.
7.6. MANU AL SC AV E NGI NG
Why in news?
Recent deaths of five manual scavengers in Delhi highlights how the practice of manual scavenging still persists.
What is Manual Scavenging?
• The International Labour Organisation defines it as the removal of human excreta from public streets and dry latrines, and cleaning septic tanks, severs and gutters.
Legal Position on Manual Scavenging
• Manual scavenging is prohibited by both
Some facts on Manual Scavenging in India
• The Census of India in 2011 established that more than 2.6 million dry latrines exist in India.
• According to Census of India 2011, there are 740,078 households across the country where human excreta is removed by a person from a dry latrine.
• In addition, the Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011 said that there are 182,505 families in rural India engaged in manual scavenging.
• According to National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) since January 1, 2017, one person has died every five days, on an average, while cleaning sewers and septic tanks across the country.
international instruments, and Indian law. International agencies such as the UNICEF (as a water and sanitary issue), the WHO (as a health issue), the UNDP and the ILO have all called for an end to the practice.
• India’s Constitution bans the practice of untouchability, and the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, prohibits compelling anyone to practice manual scavenging.
• Aimed specifically at ending manual scavenging, The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993 declared the employment of manual scavengers and construction of dry toilets to be punishable with fines and imprisonment.
• Superseding the 1993 Act, the 2013 Act goes beyond prohibitions on dry latrines, and outlaws all manual excrement cleaning of insanitary latrines, open drains, or pits. And, importantly, it recognizes a constitutional obligation to correct the historical injustice and indignity suffered by manual scavenging communities by providing alternate livelihoods and other assistance.
However, despite such legal and constitutional safeguards, manual scavengers remain victims of discrimination. There are a number of reasons for this.
76 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS
• Firstly, sanitation being a State subject, it requires States’ support.
• Secondly, the law requires that the
rehabilitation of scavengers has to be carried out as per the existing schemes, even though these very schemes have not been successful in eradicating the practice in the past.
• Thirdly, it is not just the law but the attitude of public authorities which aggravates the plight of the scavengers. The Government has repeatedly sought an extension of deadline to curb the problem, exhibiting lack of commitment.
Problems associated with Manual
Scavenging
• Every year, hundreds of manual scavengers die, asphyxiated by poisonous gases. According to data collated by the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) there have been 634 deaths related to manual scavenging since 1993, with Tamil Nadu reporting the highest number of such deaths at 194, followed by Gujarat 122, Karnataka
68 and Uttar Pradesh 51. The figure
may change as the process of collecting details from states and updating the data is going on.
• Manual scavenging is not only a caste-based but also a gender-based occupation with 90 per cent of them being women. Households with dry latrines prefer women to clean the
Related constitutional provisions
• The Constitution of India, in conformity with the international position, abolishes untouchability (Art. 17) and prohibits caste-based discrimination (Art. 15).
• Under the Constitution human dignity is an inalienable right which is part of the fundamental right to life under Art. 21.
• It is a universally recognized right, endorsed by the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights by way of Articles 1, 22 and 23.
Current law on Manual Scavenging
• The Parliament has enacted the ‘Prohibition of Employment as
Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013’.
• It came into force on Dec 6th 2013 in whole of country, except
Jammu & Kashmir.
• It intends to
o Eliminate the insanitary latrines.
o Prohibit Employment as Manual Scavengers, Hazardous manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks.
o Survey of Manual Scavengers and their rehabilitation
• The Act thus prohibits dry latrines and all kinds of manual cleaning of excrement as well as cleaning gutters, sewers, and septic tanks without protective gear.
• Under section 8 of this Act, a person violating this will be punishable with imprisonment for up to two years or a fine of up to I2 lakh or both. For any subsequent violations, the imprisonment may extend up to five years and the fine can go up to I5 lakh or both.
• The Act also has following provisions for the rehabilitation of the identified manual scavengers
o An initial one-time cash assistance
o Scholarship to the children of manual scavenger
o Allotment of residential plot and financial assistance for house
construction of a ready built house
o Training in a livelihood skill with payment of stipend of at least
Rs 3000 per month
o Provision for subsidy, along with concessional loans, to at least one adult member of the family.
excreta instead of men as they are located inside the house. According to a Human Rights Watch report, on an average, women get paid as little as between Rs 10 and Rs 50 every month per household. It is much less than men who earn up to Rs 300 a day for cleaning sewer lines.
• Manual scavengers are exposed to the most virulent forms of viral and bacterial infections that affect their skin, eyes, and limbs, respiratory and gastro-intestinal systems.
• The practice of caste-based exclusion and discrimination shows failure of access and entitlements not only to economic rights, but also to civil, cultural and political rights. It involves what has been described as “living mode exclusion”; exclusion from political participation and exclusion and disadvantage from social and economic opportunities.
• A vicious cycle of poverty and social immobility- Undermined physical capacity and the feeling of vulnerability and hopelessness associated with this form of discrimination triggers a vicious cycle of impoverishment, low educational attainment, and social immobility for manual scavengers and their families.
Why it still Persists?
• While legally manual scavenging is banned, caste apartheid and poverty perpetuate this practice.
• Scavenging does not require any skill and provides some additional income with no competition, investment and risk.
77 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS
• These features coupled with the need for cleaning dry latrines and a lack of alternatives, force the scavengers, particularly women, to continue in this occupation.
• It has also been found that in certain cases, scavengers also face a difficulty in taking up other occupations like running shops due to the prevailing social prejudices.
Way Forward
• Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is responsible for rehabilitation of manual scavengers and it implements the ‘Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers’ (SRMS).
• Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has associated reputed NGOs like Safai Karamchari Andolan, Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan, Sulabh International etc. for identification of manual scavengers and their rehabilitation.
• Immediate steps should include holding officials accountable for properly enforcing relevant laws, including the 2013 Act and The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
• The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is conducting a survey to identify manual scavengers. The first phase has identified 53236 manual scavenger across 12 states. There is a need to extend the survey to whole country and create a reliable database so as to extend benefits of 2013 Act to intended beneficiaries.
• Recently Centre launched a challenge asking innovators,
Technological Solutions to end manual scavenging
• Hyderabad Municipality has deployed 70 mini jetting machines. These mini vehicles can have easy access to the narrow lanes and smaller colonies to clear the choked sewer pipes (drainages).
• Bandicoot- India’s first ‘manhole cleaning robot’ is an exoskeleton robot which cleans manholes without the need for humans to enter the pit.
NGOs, research institutions, companies and cities to propose technology and business solutions to clean urban sewers and septic tanks without human entry.
• Dalits must be empowered through education and economic uplift. As per NCSK data, the Rs 10 lakh compensation that is mandated under law in case of manual scavenging deaths, has been paid in only 70 of the 123 cases since January 2017. Compensation should be paid immediately.
• The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan should make expansion of the sewer network a top priority and come up with a scheme for scientific maintenance that will end manual cleaning of septic tanks to achieve its target of eradicating manual scavenging by 2019.
• A determined approach to end this practice requires a campaign against social prejudice and caste based discrimination.
SWAC HHAT A HI SE V A CAMPAI GN
Why in news?
Recently, Swachhata Hi Seva (SHS) Campaign was launched.
82 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS
About the Campiagn
• It is a (jan andolan) the second edition of the campaign launched in 2017, which aims at accelerating the vision for a Clean India.
• Objectives of SHS
o Accelerate the momentum of Swachh
Bharat in the run-up to its
4th anniversary.
o Re-energise the Swachh Bharat Jan Andolan and lay down the foundation of sustainability
o Reinforce the concept of “Sanitation as everyone’s business”
o Commence Mahatma Gandhi’s
150th birth year celebrations with a
nationwide campaign
• It also aims at engaging sharamdan activities with huge community mobilisation through grassroot swachhata champions such as woman sarpanches, students, film celebrities, sports persons etc.
• The Campaign also aims to engage with media which has been playing crucial role in creating awareness about the Swachh Bharat Mission.
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or Clean India Campaign
• It is a nationwide campaign and the biggest ever cleanliness drive in the country.
• The goal is to achieve Swachh Bharat by 2019, as a tribute to the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, by improving the levels of cleanliness in rural areas and making Gram Panchayats Open Defecation Free (ODF).
• Specific Objectives:
o Elimination of open defecation.
o Conversion of insanitary toilets to pour flush toilets.
o Eradication of manual scavenging.
o 100% collection and scientific processing/disposal/reuse/
recycling of municipal solid waste.
o A behavioral change in people regarding healthy sanitation practices
o Generation of awareness among citizens about sanitation and its linkages with public health.
o Supporting urban local bodies in designing, executing and operating waste disposal systems.
o Facilitating private-sector participation in capital expenditure and operation and maintenance costs for sanitary facilities.
7.6. MANU AL SC AV E NGI NG
Why in news?
Recent deaths of five manual scavengers in Delhi highlights how the practice of manual scavenging still persists.
What is Manual Scavenging?
• The International Labour Organisation defines it as the removal of human excreta from public streets and dry latrines, and cleaning septic tanks, severs and gutters.
Legal Position on Manual Scavenging
• Manual scavenging is prohibited by both
Some facts on Manual Scavenging in India
• The Census of India in 2011 established that more than 2.6 million dry latrines exist in India.
• According to Census of India 2011, there are 740,078 households across the country where human excreta is removed by a person from a dry latrine.
• In addition, the Socio-Economic Caste Census 2011 said that there are 182,505 families in rural India engaged in manual scavenging.
• According to National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) since January 1, 2017, one person has died every five days, on an average, while cleaning sewers and septic tanks across the country.
international instruments, and Indian law. International agencies such as the UNICEF (as a water and sanitary issue), the WHO (as a health issue), the UNDP and the ILO have all called for an end to the practice.
• India’s Constitution bans the practice of untouchability, and the Protection of Civil Rights Act, 1955, prohibits compelling anyone to practice manual scavenging.
• Aimed specifically at ending manual scavenging, The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993 declared the employment of manual scavengers and construction of dry toilets to be punishable with fines and imprisonment.
• Superseding the 1993 Act, the 2013 Act goes beyond prohibitions on dry latrines, and outlaws all manual excrement cleaning of insanitary latrines, open drains, or pits. And, importantly, it recognizes a constitutional obligation to correct the historical injustice and indignity suffered by manual scavenging communities by providing alternate livelihoods and other assistance.
However, despite such legal and constitutional safeguards, manual scavengers remain victims of discrimination. There are a number of reasons for this.
76 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS
• Firstly, sanitation being a State subject, it requires States’ support.
• Secondly, the law requires that the
rehabilitation of scavengers has to be carried out as per the existing schemes, even though these very schemes have not been successful in eradicating the practice in the past.
• Thirdly, it is not just the law but the attitude of public authorities which aggravates the plight of the scavengers. The Government has repeatedly sought an extension of deadline to curb the problem, exhibiting lack of commitment.
Problems associated with Manual
Scavenging
• Every year, hundreds of manual scavengers die, asphyxiated by poisonous gases. According to data collated by the National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) there have been 634 deaths related to manual scavenging since 1993, with Tamil Nadu reporting the highest number of such deaths at 194, followed by Gujarat 122, Karnataka
68 and Uttar Pradesh 51. The figure
may change as the process of collecting details from states and updating the data is going on.
• Manual scavenging is not only a caste-based but also a gender-based occupation with 90 per cent of them being women. Households with dry latrines prefer women to clean the
Related constitutional provisions
• The Constitution of India, in conformity with the international position, abolishes untouchability (Art. 17) and prohibits caste-based discrimination (Art. 15).
• Under the Constitution human dignity is an inalienable right which is part of the fundamental right to life under Art. 21.
• It is a universally recognized right, endorsed by the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights by way of Articles 1, 22 and 23.
Current law on Manual Scavenging
• The Parliament has enacted the ‘Prohibition of Employment as
Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act 2013’.
• It came into force on Dec 6th 2013 in whole of country, except
Jammu & Kashmir.
• It intends to
o Eliminate the insanitary latrines.
o Prohibit Employment as Manual Scavengers, Hazardous manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks.
o Survey of Manual Scavengers and their rehabilitation
• The Act thus prohibits dry latrines and all kinds of manual cleaning of excrement as well as cleaning gutters, sewers, and septic tanks without protective gear.
• Under section 8 of this Act, a person violating this will be punishable with imprisonment for up to two years or a fine of up to I2 lakh or both. For any subsequent violations, the imprisonment may extend up to five years and the fine can go up to I5 lakh or both.
• The Act also has following provisions for the rehabilitation of the identified manual scavengers
o An initial one-time cash assistance
o Scholarship to the children of manual scavenger
o Allotment of residential plot and financial assistance for house
construction of a ready built house
o Training in a livelihood skill with payment of stipend of at least
Rs 3000 per month
o Provision for subsidy, along with concessional loans, to at least one adult member of the family.
excreta instead of men as they are located inside the house. According to a Human Rights Watch report, on an average, women get paid as little as between Rs 10 and Rs 50 every month per household. It is much less than men who earn up to Rs 300 a day for cleaning sewer lines.
• Manual scavengers are exposed to the most virulent forms of viral and bacterial infections that affect their skin, eyes, and limbs, respiratory and gastro-intestinal systems.
• The practice of caste-based exclusion and discrimination shows failure of access and entitlements not only to economic rights, but also to civil, cultural and political rights. It involves what has been described as “living mode exclusion”; exclusion from political participation and exclusion and disadvantage from social and economic opportunities.
• A vicious cycle of poverty and social immobility- Undermined physical capacity and the feeling of vulnerability and hopelessness associated with this form of discrimination triggers a vicious cycle of impoverishment, low educational attainment, and social immobility for manual scavengers and their families.
Why it still Persists?
• While legally manual scavenging is banned, caste apartheid and poverty perpetuate this practice.
• Scavenging does not require any skill and provides some additional income with no competition, investment and risk.
77 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS
• These features coupled with the need for cleaning dry latrines and a lack of alternatives, force the scavengers, particularly women, to continue in this occupation.
• It has also been found that in certain cases, scavengers also face a difficulty in taking up other occupations like running shops due to the prevailing social prejudices.
Way Forward
• Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is responsible for rehabilitation of manual scavengers and it implements the ‘Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers’ (SRMS).
• Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has associated reputed NGOs like Safai Karamchari Andolan, Rashtriya Garima Abhiyan, Sulabh International etc. for identification of manual scavengers and their rehabilitation.
• Immediate steps should include holding officials accountable for properly enforcing relevant laws, including the 2013 Act and The Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
• The Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment is conducting a survey to identify manual scavengers. The first phase has identified 53236 manual scavenger across 12 states. There is a need to extend the survey to whole country and create a reliable database so as to extend benefits of 2013 Act to intended beneficiaries.
• Recently Centre launched a challenge asking innovators,
Technological Solutions to end manual scavenging
• Hyderabad Municipality has deployed 70 mini jetting machines. These mini vehicles can have easy access to the narrow lanes and smaller colonies to clear the choked sewer pipes (drainages).
• Bandicoot- India’s first ‘manhole cleaning robot’ is an exoskeleton robot which cleans manholes without the need for humans to enter the pit.
NGOs, research institutions, companies and cities to propose technology and business solutions to clean urban sewers and septic tanks without human entry.
• Dalits must be empowered through education and economic uplift. As per NCSK data, the Rs 10 lakh compensation that is mandated under law in case of manual scavenging deaths, has been paid in only 70 of the 123 cases since January 2017. Compensation should be paid immediately.
• The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan should make expansion of the sewer network a top priority and come up with a scheme for scientific maintenance that will end manual cleaning of septic tanks to achieve its target of eradicating manual scavenging by 2019.
• A determined approach to end this practice requires a campaign against social prejudice and caste based discrimination.
SWAC HHAT A HI SE V A CAMPAI GN
Why in news?
Recently, Swachhata Hi Seva (SHS) Campaign was launched.
82 www.visionias.in ©Vision IAS
About the Campiagn
• It is a (jan andolan) the second edition of the campaign launched in 2017, which aims at accelerating the vision for a Clean India.
• Objectives of SHS
o Accelerate the momentum of Swachh
Bharat in the run-up to its
4th anniversary.
o Re-energise the Swachh Bharat Jan Andolan and lay down the foundation of sustainability
o Reinforce the concept of “Sanitation as everyone’s business”
o Commence Mahatma Gandhi’s
150th birth year celebrations with a
nationwide campaign
• It also aims at engaging sharamdan activities with huge community mobilisation through grassroot swachhata champions such as woman sarpanches, students, film celebrities, sports persons etc.
• The Campaign also aims to engage with media which has been playing crucial role in creating awareness about the Swachh Bharat Mission.
Swachh Bharat Abhiyan or Clean India Campaign
• It is a nationwide campaign and the biggest ever cleanliness drive in the country.
• The goal is to achieve Swachh Bharat by 2019, as a tribute to the 150th Birth Anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, by improving the levels of cleanliness in rural areas and making Gram Panchayats Open Defecation Free (ODF).
• Specific Objectives:
o Elimination of open defecation.
o Conversion of insanitary toilets to pour flush toilets.
o Eradication of manual scavenging.
o 100% collection and scientific processing/disposal/reuse/
recycling of municipal solid waste.
o A behavioral change in people regarding healthy sanitation practices
o Generation of awareness among citizens about sanitation and its linkages with public health.
o Supporting urban local bodies in designing, executing and operating waste disposal systems.
o Facilitating private-sector participation in capital expenditure and operation and maintenance costs for sanitary facilities.
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