Hands off the black soil

Despite giant strides in technology, manual scavenging has defied existing ban to remain potent on the city's outskirts where the underground drain network is still a work in progress

Manual scavenging in a city with a world-beating hi-tech tag. Can it get more incongruous than this? An estimated 25,000 people are still linked to this practice, dubbed by the Karnataka High Court recently as ‘most inhuman,’ and which infringes upon the fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 21.

On paper, the practice is banned and manual cleaning of sewer lines and septic tanks is a strict no-no. Going beyond this, the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation (PEMSR) Act, 2013, makes it amply clear that everyone in this business needs to be identified, rehabilitated, compensated and livelihoods refashioned with care.

High prevalence

But the ground reality says an entirely different story. “Almost 98 of the 198 BBMP wards have no underground drains (UGD). Human waste is dumped into pits, septic tanks and Sewage Treatment Plants. A lot of manual scavengers are engaged to clean them,” informs Dr K B Obalesh, State Convenor of the Safai Karmachari Kaval Samithi, campaigning for their rehabilitation since 2007.

The Samithi’s demands to survey and rehabilitate the manual scavengers, he says, have been ignored for years by the Bruhath Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP). “This is a violation of the 2013 Act.” However, in November 2020, the Palike Commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad ordered a detailed re-survey of the scavengers in the city and neighbouring areas.

Majority of the manual scavengers and their families reside in pockets of Nagawara, Tannery Road, Tavarekere, K R Puram, Narayanapura and other areas on the city’s outskirts. The 110 villages added to the BBMP in 2007 and many other newly added areas are without a UGD network. Mechanised clearance of the pits and septic tanks are only the exception, not the norm.

PEMSR Act

The PEMSR Act mandates that every identified manual scavenger should get a one-time cash assistance of Rs 40,000, training to start small entrepreneurship with financial assistance ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 15 lakh through the Karnataka State Safai Karmachari Development Corporation, scholarships for their children, house and health cards.

In 2013, about 800 manual scavengers were identified and brought before the State Human Rights Commission (SHRC). “They came with self-declarations signed by the notary, seeking rehabilitation and alternative employment. Following the SHRC directions, only 302 were registered Statewide, and 202 from the city,” recalls Dr Obalesh.

Hand-holding support

The identified few were paid the initial cash compensation, while some were sanctioned Rs 1 lakh by the Palike. “But rehabilitation will not work only with this. They have suffered for generations from untouchability and other social practices, and are unaware of any other means of livelihood. They need hand-holding support and followups.”

In a detailed interim order on implementation of the Act’s provisions, the High Court on December 11 had directed the State to place on record the status of cases registered and comprehensive data on the survey of insanitary latrines in Karnataka.

The orders followed Public Interest Litigations (PILs) filed by the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU) and High Court Legal Services Committee.

Failed enforcement

“Enforcement of the Act has been a complete failure. The practice of cleaning sewers, drains and septic pits is very prevalent in Bengaluru. It gets highlighted only when someone dies. This is very unfortunate,” notes Mythreyi from AICCTU.

The High Court had observed that effective implementation of the Act cannot happen without invoking the penal provisions specified. Under Section 22 of the Act, notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973, every offence is cognizable and non-bailable.

Insanitary latrines

The legislation requires the insanitary latrines, those that are not linked to an underground drainage system, to be demolished. “The Act is clear that these latrines need to be identified, demolished and replaced with flush-out toilets. But this has not been done by the civic agencies concerned,” says an activist.

Data sourced from the Centre shows that the State has a total of 53.15 lakh insanitary latrines. But only a proper re-survey will show how many exist within the BBMP limits. Only then will a clearer picture emerge to facilitate easy identification and rehabilitation of the city’s much neglected and abused manual scavengers.