Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013
- Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 = Act had endeavoured to eliminate not only dry latrines but also “insanitary latrines” + prohibit the employment of manual scavengers for the hazardous manual cleaning of sewers and septic tanks + conduct a time-bound survey; and take measures for the rehabilitation of manual scavengers + The definition of ‘manual scavengers’ was widened to cover those involved in cleaning not only dry latrines but other insanitary latrines + statute made offences under the act cognisable and non-bailable.They now attract stringent penalties. + The act called for the setting up of vigilance/monitoring committee at sub-division, district, State and Central levels + The National Commission for Safai Karamcharis was given the responsibility of implementation + To eliminate open defecation, the act also called for the construction of an adequate number of sanitary community latrines in urban areas within three years from the date of commencement of the statute + Ministry of social justice and empowerment
- One manual scavenger dies every five days, according to official data.
- Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 abolished manual scavenging while government directly or indirectly employs manual scavengers
- Scavengers = extremely stigmatising and exploitative + risks to death(sewer deaths) + Aticle 17 abolishing Untouchability iis FR + people dying despite constitutional and statutory protections(liberty,dignity,privacy)
- WHY NOT INTO MAINSTREAM ??? = Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment said that rehabilitation of manual scavengers has been slow because they are mostly illiterate and have no exposure to any work other than sanitation-related activities + Many of them are old. They also do not have opportunities to avail of any skill development training + A lack of opportunities has also resulted in hesitation on the part of manual scavengers to come out into the open and demand jobs, making them a silent, suffering population in the country
- Safai Karamchari Finance and Development Corporation, under the Social Justice Ministry, will hold 200 camps across the country for sanitation workers to apprise them on the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013
- Ambedkar: “We must remove this contradiction at the earliest possible moment or else those who suffer from inequality will blow up the structure of political democracy.”