A fresh nationwide survey conducted under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (MS Act, 2013) has not identified any manual scavengers, the government informed the Rajya Sabha on Sunday.
In a written reply to a question by Derek O’Brien, Minister of State for Social Justice and Empowerment, Ramdas Athawale, said the survey was conducted across all districts of the country under the provisions of the 2013 Act.
The government also said that 89,915 sewer and septic tank workers have been validated under the National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE) Scheme, launched in 2023-24 to improve the safety, dignity and welfare of sanitation workers. State-wise details of the validated workers have been placed on the Table of the House.
According to the reply, the NAMASTE Scheme includes several measures to enhance occupational safety and promote mechanised sanitation. These include the distribution of personal protective equipment (PPE) kits, occupational safety training, provision of safety devices to Emergency Response Sanitation Units (ERSUs), upfront capital subsidy for sanitation-related machinery for sanitation workers, their groups and Private Sanitation Service Operators (PSSOs), health insurance coverage, and awareness workshops on preventing hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks.
The government further informed the House that the Swachh Bharat Mission–Urban (SBM-U) 2.0, launched on October 1, 2021, includes Used Water Management (UWM) as a key component. The initiative aims to eliminate hazardous entry into sewers and septic tanks by promoting mechanised cleaning operations.
Responding to a query on the continued existence of manual scavenging, the government reiterated that the MS Act, 2013 prohibits the construction and maintenance of insanitary latrines and bans the employment or engagement of any person for hazardous manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks. It added that all states and Union Territories have been requested to ensure effective implementation of the provisions of the Act.
