‘Hire sewage cleaners only through agencies’

Noida: The district administration has specified that workers who clean sewer tanks should be hired only through authorised agencies.
Referring to a Supreme Court order, the administration said those who hired workers independently would be liable to pay a penalty of Rs 30 lakh in case of any accidental death. The administration’s reminder comes a month after the death of two sewage workers who had entered a septic tank in Sector 26.
“After the death of two men inside a sewage tank in Sector 26, we have been asking people not to hire workers on their own, but only through authorised agencies.In most cases — where workers were hired individually — we found they were not provided with proper safety kits, which caused their deaths in certain cases,” said Neelam Singh Chauhan, social welfare officer in Noida.
According to Chauhan, the compensation amount for sewer deaths was Rs 10 lakh in 1993. The amount was increased to Rs 30 lakh under provisions of the Prohibition of Employment As Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act, 2013. UP govt had in Dec last year come out with an order, which referred to an SC ruling about the compensation for sewage workers who died at work.
“The Court hereby directs the Union and the States to ensure that the compensation for sewer death is increased (given that the previous amount fixed i.e. Rs10 lakh was made applicable from 1993). The current equivalent of that amount is Rs 30 lakh. This shall be the amount to be paid, by the concerned agency i.e. the Union, the Union Territory or the State as the case may be,” the order said. Chauhan clarified in such cases, the compensation amount would be recovered from the person who had hired the workers individually.
“In case the workers are hired through any agency, it will be liable to pay the amount. Moreover, in such cases, they are equipped with necessary equipment and precautionary measures, which reduces the risk factor,” she added.
On May 3, Sumit Chawla had called Nunu and Tapan Mandal to clean the sewage tank at his house in Sector 26. He had hired the two workers through an agency earlier, but decided to contact them individually this time. Minutes after entering the tank, the two fainted and died. Chawla paid the families Rs 8 lakh each. After the district administration asked Chawla to pay Rs 30 lakh, he moved court.