Relevance: GS Paper II (Development and Welfare)
Why has this issue cropped up?
Recently, five young men died in Delhi who were employed to clean a septic tank. It is a shocking reminder that India’s sanitation campaign has done little to alter some basic ground realities.
Why does manual scavenging still continue?
- The law is not being enforced, and there is no fear of penalties. The workers in Delhi were apparently asked to perform the task in violation of Section 7 of the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013.
- In spite of a well-funded program such as the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan in operation, little attention is devoted to this aspect of sanitation.
- The requirements of worker safety and provision of safety gear for rare instances when human intervention is unavoidable are often ignored.
- Mere assertions by the Centre that it is pressing State governments to prosecute violators, therefore, ring hollow. More and more incidents are being reported of workers dying in septic tanks.
Way forward
- In the absence of political will and social pressure, more lives could be lost because more tanks are being built in rural and urban areas as part of the drive to construct toilets. If the law on manual scavenging is to be effective, the penalties must be uniformly and visibly enforced.
- The Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation in its manual of 2016 on toilet design acknowledges that in rural areas, mechanical pumps to clear septic tanks are not available. It is equally important for State governments to address the lack of adequate machinery to clean septic tanks.
- Toilet designs proposed by the government include those in which fully composted waste must be removed from pits every two years. The Centre must ensure that this does not become a fresh avenue to oppress members of some communities who are expected to perform such work, reflecting social inequalities.
- The Swachh Bharat Abhiyan should make expansion of the sewer network a top priority and come up with a scheme for scientific maintenance that will end manual cleaning of septic tanks.
- The law should be enforced vigorously to eliminate manual scavenging in its entirety.
