NEW DELHI: The government on Thursday announced two major decisions to end the hazardous practice of manual cleaning of sewer lines and septic tanks. While the social justice ministry will amend law to make machine cleaning mandatory, the urban affairs ministry launched a “Safaimitra Suraksha Challenge” to ensure that no person needs to enter a sewer or septic tank.
Though existing regulations and several Supreme Court judgements have prohibited manual cleaning of sewer lines and septic tanks without taking enough safety precautions, nearly 800 cleaners have died in the past five years.
Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri launched the challenge among 243 major cities on the occasion of World Toilet Day. Speaking at the event, social justice and empowerment secretary R Subramanyam said the fundamental change in the existing Prohibition of Employment of Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Act will be that mechanised cleaning will be made mandatory.
“It should not be just a best practice, but it has to be the only practice,” he said. Subramanyam said the ministry will provide funds to sanitation workers and not to contractors or municipalities to purchase machinery. “We want the workers to own these machines so that these can be used by the municipalities when there is a requirement,” he said.
Urban affairs secretary D S Mishra appealed to the states and city administrations to substitute the term “manhole” with “machine hole” to bring a paradigm shift in which this entire issue is approached.
State governments took the pledge to mechanise all sewer and septic tank cleaning operations by April 31, 2021. Cities will be awarded in three sub-categories — with a population of more than 10 lakh, 3-10 lakh and up to three lakh, with total prize money of Rs 52 crore to be given to winning cities across all categories.
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