Children of a lesser God? Prevention of Manual Scavenging is better than a cure

Last month, a group of protestors, including lawyers and family members of victims of manual scavenging, gathered outside the Directorate of Municipal Administration (DMA) in the heart of Bangalore city..The protest, organised by the All India Central Council of Trade Unions (AICCTU), is not without justification. Holding up placards and demanding action, the group are terming the recent death of two contract “sanitary workers” as a murder..As extreme a view as that may be, the fact that the administrative authorities have done precious little to eradicate manual scavenging in the state is undebatable. In the past eight years, more than forty “sanitary workers” have lost their lives in Bangalore city. And this is just the reported deaths..It is a malaise that has been brought to the court’s attention. More than once..In 2013, the Karnataka High Court directed the state government to comply with the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act in 2013 (Manual Scavengers Act), a legislation that outlaws the abhorrent practice. The High Court was hearing a petition filed by PUCL, and argued by lawyers of the Alternative Law Forum..The Karnataka High Court decision was just one of many. Most recently, the Patna, Madras and Delhi High Courts pulled up the respective state governments for their inaction in dealing with the issue. In fact the Madras High Court has taken a proactive role in monitoring the implementation of the Act..Despite this, a concerted effort to eradicate manual scavenging has been lacking. In August last year, the Central Government had listed manual scavenging as a career option on its National Career Services Portal..All this, despite the Supreme Court of India denouncing manual scavenging as “an inhuman practice” and a “violation of human rights” in 2014..What is manual scavenging?.The Manual Scavengers Act defines a manual scavenger as:.“…a person engaged or employed…by an individual or a local authority or an agency or a contractor, for manually cleaning, carrying, disposing of, or otherwise handling in any manner, human excreta in an insanitary latrine or in an open drain or pit into which the human excreta from the insanitary latrines is disposed of, or on a railway track or in such other spaces or premises…before the excreta fully decomposes…”.Sections 5 and 7 of the Act prohibit a person, local authority or agency from employing persons for the purpose of manual scavenging and hazardous cleaning of a sewer or a septic tank respectively. Violation of these provisions can lead upto five years imprisonment along with a fine of five lakh rupees..The Act also mandates state and local governments to identify manual scavengers in their jurisdiction and ensure their rehabilitation..What has the Supreme Court said?.In Safai Karamchari Andolan v. Union of India, the apex court pulled up the government and directed that the persons identified under Sections 11 and 12 receive a one-time cash assistance, scholarships for their children, a residential plot, training in livelihood skills with a monthly stipend, and concessional loans, among other relief..The Bench, headed by then Chief Justice of India P Sathasivam, also directed that families of people who die cleaning septic tanks and sewers be compensated to the tune of 10 lakh rupees. It also pulled up the Railways and directed them to end manual scavenging on the tracks..So how many people has the government identified as ‘manual scavengers’?.According to the latest statistics of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, as of December 2015, a total of 1,82,505 households across rural India have a manual scavenger as a member of the family. However, the Ministry states that this figure does not necessarily reflect the number of people who depend on manual scavenging for a living..According to the Ministry, the number of “identified” manual scavengers is 12,226. But it is not clear as to when these people have been identified. Under the Manual Scavengers Act, identified persons receive an identity card and cash assistance within one month. The Ministry statistics also do not clarify as to whether or not such identified persons have received the assistance prescribed by the Supreme Court, or any assistance at all..This is something the AICCTU has identified as a huge problem. At the protest held in Bangalore, they approached the Director of the DMA with a list of demands, including information on the number of manual scavengers identified and the assistance, if any, provided to them..How much has the central government spent on rehabilitation?.In reply to a question asked in the Lok Sabha, the Ministry revealed that since 2012/13, a mere 7,346 persons have benefited under the government’s rehabilitation schemes. For this purpose, 29.38 crore has been spent over the last four years..One would expect the expenditure to significantly rise in the wake of the Modi government’s imposition of a Swachh Bharat Cess, one of the objectives of which is to eradicate manual scavenging. Quite recently, former Chairman of the Law Commission of India, Justice AP Shah questioned as to why this cess was still not being used towards this purpose..Why does manual scavenging still occur, despite being outlawed?.The principal reason behind the perpetuation of this practice is the caste system. In Safai Karamchari, the Supreme Court noted,.“…over 95% [of them] are Dalits (persons belonging to the scheduled castes), who are compelled to undertake this denigrating task under the garb of “traditional occupation.”.Another reason is the difficulty in finding alternate means of livelihood, something that is a bigger problem in rural areas. The central government did try addressing this issue way back in 2007 by launching the Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers (SRMS). Under this scheme, manual scavengers were given training in non-traditional professions, and also given loans at low interest rates..Although there are government schemes like these to address this issue, things work quite differently in practice. So deeply embedded is the social stigma that manual scavengers have no opportunity for alternate employment..To quote from a report by Human Rights Watch,.“Where the formal process for accessing MGNREGA work is not implemented, authorities can exclude eligible adults on the basis of gender and caste. While men from the Valmiki community are at times called to work in Kasela, women are effectively excluded.”.So what are the solutions?.In April this year, the government notified the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Amendment Rules, 2016. Under this amendment, making a member of the Scheduled Castes or the Scheduled Tribes perform manual scavenging or employing him for such purpose is now deemed an offence. The punishment is a fine of 1 lakh rupees to be paid to the victim..Further, the Rules prescribes the setting up of Special Courts in each district and a panel of senior lawyers who have been in practice for not less than seven years, for conducting cases in these Special Courts. Hopefully, these measures will impart more responsibility on the officials who have thus far been derelict in their duty under the Act..Secondly, a more organized and effective system of identifying manual scavengers is the need of the hour. The state governments have been dallying over this since 2013, with only 11 states participating in the most recent survey..Back in Bangalore, the Director of the DMA has promised action against the concerned government officials who employed the victims. A compensation of 10 lakh has been disbursed to each of the victims’ families..Despite these actions, it is clear that these incidents will continue to happen unless a serious effort is made by the state governments. The need of the hour is to prevent the inhumane practice from taking place, rather than doling out compensation after the damage has been done..Image courtesy:.Lead Image.Swachh Bharat