NEW DELHI: As many as 340 people died while cleaning sewers and septic tanks during the last five years as per the cases reported by the states and Union Territories upto December 31, 2020. Maximum cases have been reported from Uttar Pradesh at 52 deaths followed by Tamil Nadu (43), Delhi (36), Maharashtra (34), and 31 each in Gujarat and Haryana.
The numbers were shared by the ministry of social justice and empowerment in Lok Sabha in a written reply to a question. Among other states Karnataka reported 24 cases of deaths while cleaning sewers or septic tanks followed by Rajasthan (18), Punjab (17), Andhra Pradesh (16), West Bengal (13), and Bihar (8). Chhattisgarh reported just one case followed by Madhya Pradesh, Tripura and Goa (2 each), Chandigarh and Kerala (3 each) and 4 cases in Telangana.
Under the “Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Rules, 2013” the employer who engages the workers for cleaning sewers / septic tanks is obliged to provide the safety gear, devices and ensure safety precautions as prescribed in the rules.
To a query on whether the government has formulated any new plan to prevent manual cleaning of sewers, minister of state for social justice and empowerment, Ramdas Athawale informed Parliament that a national policy for mechanised sanitation eco-system has been formulated in consultation with the ministry of housing and urban affairs, department of drinking water and sanitation which envisages appointment of a sanitation authority in every district and response units in each municipality equipped with necessary devices and vehicles.
The minister stated that the National Safai Karmacharis Finance and Development Corporation is implementing a scheme, "Swachhata Udyami Yojana” under which loans are provided to manual scavengers, safai karamcharis engaged in hazardous cleaning and their dependents to procure mechanised equipment upto Rs 5 lakh with a subsidy of 50%. He also added that NSKFDC is providing training to safai karamcharis to improve their skilling potential for handling mechanised equipment.