Centre informs 'no report' of people currently engaged in manual scavenging

On December 21, the Central government issued an official declaration stating that no one was involved in manual scavenging in the country now. On the other hand, PTI reported citing, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale stating on December 21, that 158 people died while cleaning sewers or septic tanks in the last three years.

"There is no report of people currently engaged in manual scavenging in the country," the press release stated.

"However, as per reports received from States, 158 persons have died while cleaning sewers or septic tanks during the last three years," Athawale stated according to PTI.

According to the statement, since October 2, 2014, the Swachh Bharat Mission has built over 10.84 crore sanitary toilets in rural regions and over 62 lakh in urban areas, as well as converting unsanitary toilets to sanitary toilets. This work was essential in putting an end to the practice of manual scavenging.

The official release read, "After receiving reports from the social institutions working in this field, about continuation of this practice, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has launched a mobile app 'Swachhata Abhiyaan' on 24.12.2020 to capture the data of insanitary latrines still existing and manual scavengers associated with them."

One can use an app on the smartphone to upload information about unsanitary latrines and manual scavengers. The data is then verified by the relevant district administration. No evidence of an unsanitary latrine has been found yet, according to the statement.

Despite government's 'no report' stance, deaths from manual scavenging persist

Despite the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (MS Act, 2013), which outlaws the practice, it is widespread across the country, with many people, particularly the poor, suffering on a daily basis. In the Lok Sabha earlier this month, the administration revealed that 321 people perished in accidents while performing hazardous sewer and septic tank cleaning during the last five years. 93 individuals died in 2017. The figure was 70 in 2018. The number of deaths increased to 117 in 2019, with 19 and 22 deaths occurring in 2020 and 2021, respectively.

The Union government acknowledged the presence of caste among manual scavengers, which has far-reaching social ramifications. In an answer to the Rajya Sabha on December 1, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment Ramdas Athawale revealed that caste data shows that over 42,500 people, or 97.25%, of the total 58,098 people identified in manual scavenging are from Scheduled Caste communities. Another 421 come from Scheduled Tribes, with a similar number from other disadvantaged populations.

(With inputs from agencies)