Days after two men were asphyxiated while cleaning a clogged septic tank in a restaurant at Marathahalli here, the Karnataka State Commission for Safai Karmacharis has directed the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) to create a cell to monitor sewage treatment plants (STPs) under its jurisdiction. The cell is expected to have on board other civic agencies as well.
Commission chairman M.R. Venkatesha said on Saturday the commission had also asked the BBMP to ensure that all the STPs were registered under the civic body.
As many as seven persons have succumbed to the banned practice of manual scavenging in the city so far this year.
Mr. Venkatesha said there was a lack of clarity over which agency has to monitor private STPs — the BBMP, which approves building sanctions, or Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board, which insists on apartments with more than 50 units to have STPs, or the Karnataka State Pollution Control Board (KSPCB).
The commission has noted that while the KSPCB has said there are 590 STPs registered in the city, activists have said there are close to 4,800. Mr. Venkatesha said civic agencies had been asked to conduct a survey of the STPs and submit a report within a fortnight.
BBMP Commissioner N. Manjunath Prasad said the civic body would coordinate with other agencies to devise a method to monitor the STPs.
Clifton Rosario, an advocate with Manthan Law, said though the directive to create a cell was welcome as it would facilitate better coordination, the Labour Department should also be roped in to ensure compliance with labour laws.
Resurvey ordered
Mr. Venkatesha said the State government had ordered a resurvey of the number of manual scavengers in rural areas. A 2016 survey, conducted by the Departments of Social Welfare, and Rural Development and Panchayat Raj, along with non-governmental organisations had pegged the number at 474 in rural areas, and 302 in urban areas.
Danger sticker
The commission has decided to ensure that STP have a sticker with the danger symbol and warning that manual scavenging is prohibited by law. Mr. Venkatesha said the commission would write to the State government to make it mandatory to have this sticker on STPs.
