Madras High Court slams govt for not ending manual scavenging

MADURAI:  Hearing a PIL alleging continuance of manual scavenging in TN despite a ban, the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court on Thursday criticised the State government for failing to end it and sought a detailed report on the issue.

A Bench of justices R Mahadevan and J Sathya Narayana Prasad said, “Despite various directives from the Supreme Court and High Court against manual scavenging, government officials, specifically district collectors, are so lethargic in implementing them.”

Noting that this amounts to contempt of court, the judges sought a detailed report from the government and adjourned the case for three weeks. They further directed the petitioner to give complete details about the photographs submitted by him in support of his claims. If the petitioner can submit proofs, severe action would be taken against the collector concerned, the judges added.

The litigant S Ayyaa of Tirunelveli alleged that though manual scavenging was banned, it still prevailed and the government officials turned a blind eye to the issue.