Coimbatore: Stating that the district is being run like a separate state that refuses to implement either the state government orders or the Central government orders, member of the national commission for safai karamcharis Jagadish Hiremani on Monday warned of strict action if steps are not taken to complete the manual scavenging survey.
Chairing the vigilance review meeting for safai karamcharis at the district collectorate, the official also insisted on the implementation of the minimum wages act. “As per the government order issued by the Tamil Nadu government, each worker should be paid a minimum of Rs 625 per day. Though the government has passed the order, the district administration has failed to implement it,” he said.
The Central government had ordered all the state governments to complete manual scavenging survey by April 30, Hiremani said. “The deadline has passed. The city corporation claims that there are only 195 manual scavengers in the corporation limits and the town panchayats claim there are just 16. The village panchayats have not held the survey. Irrespective of that, the national safai karamchari development corporation has been providing necessary funds to the state government to advertise and hold camps, which has also not been done. If the survey is not completed within 10 days, we will take legal action against the district administration,” he said.
Once the survey is completed, the listed manual scavengers will get monetary benefits from the state and Central government. They will also be eligible for loans to start businesses. Other benefits such as education, housing and rehabilitation will also be provided. “It is the lack of awareness that makes genuine beneficiaries miss these subsidies. I have asked the officials to look beyond government offices and search in locations such as bus stands, hotels and private companies to identify manual scavengers,” Hiremani said.
The official also ordered the district administration to issue the state government compensation of Rs3 lakh for the children of the civic conservancy workers R Gowrishankar, 21, of Nambiazhaganpalayam, M Ezhumalai, 23, of Rathinapuri and P Suryakumar, 23, of Gounder Mills - who died of asphyxiation in a gold smithery in Coimbatore on December 22.