330 died ‘cleaning’ sewers, septic tanks between 2017-21: Govt in LS

Between 2017 and 2021, as many as 330 people died cleaning sewers and septic tanks, the government told the Parliament. With 47 deaths, Uttar Pradesh accounted for the highest. While manual scavenging has been outlawed since 2013, the government said that to counter instances of the practice it has launched an app.

Tamil Nadu registered 43 deaths, while there were 42 in Delhi, followed by Haryana (36) and Maharashtra (30). Karnataka accounted for 26 deaths. The government, however, said that there are no reports of deaths due to manual scavenging but sanitary workers have died due to accidents.

The information was furnished by minister of state for social justice and empowerment Ramdas Athawale in response to a query in the Lok Sabha. The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation (PEMSR) Act, 2013 prohibits manual scavenging, but the practice continues unabated.

The minister further said that after receiving reports about the continuation of the practice, the ministry launched an app ‘Swachhata Abhiyaan’ to capture data on “insanitary toilets still existing and manual scavengers associated with them”.

The government said that under the Swachh Bharat Mission, more than 10.99 crore sanitary toilets have been constructed in rural areas and over 62.65 lakh insanitary toilets in urban areas have been converted to sanitary ones. “This work has made a huge contribution towards ending the practice of manual scavenging,” the government.

Replying to another answer in the Lok Sabha, Athawale said that between 2019 and 2022, the government spent Rs 140 crore to rehabilitate manual scavengers. Scavengers get an ontime assistance of Rs 40,000, an amount of Rs 3000 monthly for themselves or their kin for skill development for a period of upto 2 years, and loans of upto Rs 5 lakh. He said that the government spent Rs 84.80 in 2019-20, Rs 16.60 in 2020-21 and Rs 39 in 2021-22.