Safai Karamcharis ( A work of Dignity )

Issues related to Vulnerable Sections

Source: The Economic Times

Context:

The author talks about the welfare of the Sanitation workers of India.

Editorial Insights:

What's the issue?

The sanitation workers who face greater challenges routines have under underwent greater risks of health hazards due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the same time, the pandemic has made the policymakers address the issues of sanitation workers' safety & welfare urgently.

Safai Karamcharis/ Sanitation Workers of India:

• As per the Social Justice Ministry survey, there are 67000 manual scavengers in India till October 2022.
• In India, the Sanitation work is tied with caste-based occupational roles, where the bulk of such work is done by SCs/STs.
• For long, they have been subjected to discrimination, stigma & untouchability for years.
• Among them, the manual scavengers are the most stigmatized section.
• Despite the Prohibition of Employment of Manual Scavengers Act 2013, the practice of manual scavenging continues
• At the grass-root level, the local self govts subcontract the sanitation work to private businesses & informal labourers, where manual scavenging practice has been increasingly taking up.
• As per the 6th Economic Census 2013, of the 1.7 lakh recorded businesses under Water & Sanitation & Hygiene, 82% are privately owned.

There is a steep increase in demand for sanitation work because:

Rapidly growing Urbanization,

The success of the 1st phase Swachh Bharat Mission led to the construction of toilets with on-site sanitation systems across India,

Through the AMRUT scheme, there has been an emphasis on larger sanitation infra such as sewerage networks & treatment plants,

However, because of its narrow focus on 500 cities & inadequate sewerage network & treatment plants, the safe treatment & disposal of waste lags behind toilet construction.

Due to the high informality of the sanitation sector, it is a challenge to arrive at an accurate estimation of sanitation workers mainly manual scavengers.

The data from National Sample Survey 2019, shows that 65% of Indian households have toilets with septic tanks.

However, these data underscore the need to augment the sanitation value chain mainly mechanized cleaning & treatment of waste.

Further Efforts taken by the govt:

• In the 2nd phase of Swachh Bharat Mission & AMRUT, the salient feature is the prioritization of safe treatment & disposal of waste along with building sanitary toilets.
• The Social Justice Ministry under its revised Self-Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavengers has been taking measures for rehabilitation of sanitation workers such as:
• One-time cash assistance,
• Loans at concessional rates,
• Subsidy,
• Skill development training.
• At the same time, the National Safai Karamcharis Finance & Development Corporation has been building capacities at the local govt, equipping them with mechanized de-sludging trucks & providing financial assistance to sanitation workers.
• Recently, the National Action for Mechanized Sanitation Ecosystem proposed to set up units at the district & local self-govts to monitor sanitation services.

Concluding Remarks:

The dignity of humans is not just Fundamental right or Constitutionally enriched right, it is a basic human & natural right. The failure of all the stakeholders of India to eradicate or prevent manual scavenging showcases the lacunas in our efforts.

It is high time that mechanized sanitation should be synchronized with decentralized monitoring of violations of sanitation protocols to eradicate manual scavenging & ensure the welfare of all sanitation workers.