Manual Scavenging and Government initiatives

Manual Scavenging and Government initiatives

What is manual scavenging?

·        Manual scavenging is manual removal of excreta (night soil) from “dry toilets”, i.e., toilets without the modern flush system.

Is this existed in Indus valley civilisation?

·        No, because these cities had toilets, which were connected to underground drainage system lined with burnt clay bricks.

How this manual scavenging came into existence? Who introduced?

·        Manual scavenging is said to have started in 1214 in Europe when the first public toilets appeared. 

Evolution of Flush type toilet:

·        The water closet was invented by John Harrington in 1596.

·        In 1870, S.S. Helior invented the flush type toilet, and it became common in the Western world.

How manual scavenging entered into india? Who is that culprit?

This credit goes to Mughal ruler Jehangir, who built a public toilet at Alwar.

First innocent caste involved in manual scavenging and about them?

·        Bhangi is an Indian (innocent) caste.

·        They were historically restricted to three occupations: cleaning latrines, sweeping, and scavenging (which sometimes involves handling dead bodies).

Legal Framework:

·        Sanitation is a State subject.

·        But by using Article 252 of the constitution which empowers Parliament to legislate for two or more States by consent and adoption of such legislation by any other State.

·        After six states (Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Tripura, West Bengal) passed resolutions requesting the Central Government to frame a law, The Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993, drafted by the Ministry of Urban Development under the Narasimha Rao government, was passed by Parliament in 1993.

Employment of Manual Scavengers and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993:

The Act provides for a penalty of imprisonment up to 1 year with or without fine which may extend to Rs. 2000/- or both in case of failure or contravention of the Act. Further, in case of repeated contraventions, fine to the extent of Rs. 100/- per day for the entire period of contravention is also provided.

Is this law prohibited the employment of manual scavengers?

·        No, this law was weak in letter and poorly implemented.

·        Governments themselves flouted the law with impunity by operating public dry latrines and employing manual scavengers to clean these.

·        They falsely reported full abolition of manual scavenging and almost no one has been punished in 20 years of the law.

How this humiliating practice has declined (only declined not eradicated)?

Organisations of manual scavengers themselves have bravely battled the practice, publicly burning baskets that they deployed to carry human excreta on their heads, and demolishing dry latrines.

One of the demands of organisations of manual scavengers was for a more stringent law, in which ending this practice was acknowledged to be a matter of human dignity and not merely of sanitation. 

The Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and Their Rehabilitation Bill, 2012:

Introducing the Bill in Parliament, Minister Kumari Selja described the practice as ‘dehumanising’, ‘inconsistent with the right to live with dignity’ and a ‘stigma and blot’ on society.

She also admitted that all State governments were in a ‘denial mode’ about the persistence of this social evil.

Highlights of the Bill:

• Prohibits:
•  the employment of manual scavengers,
•  the manual cleaning of sewers,
• septic tanks without protective equipment, and
• the construction of insanitary latrines. 

• It seeks to rehabilitate manual scavengers and provide for their alternative employment.
• Each local authority, cantonment board and railway authority is responsible for surveying insanitary latrines within its jurisdiction.  They shall also construct a number of sanitary community latrines.
• Each occupier of insanitary latrines shall be responsible for converting or demolishing the latrine at his own cost.  If he fails to do so, the local authority shall convert the latrine and recover the cost from him.

• The District Magistrate and the local authority shall be the implementing authorities. 

• Offences under the Bill shall be cognizable and non-bailable, and may be tried summarily.  

Key Issues and Analysis

• The existing law prohibiting manual scavenging was enacted under the State List.  There could be an argument for Parliament’s jurisdiction to enact this Bill as this regulates conditions of work, and is thus a Concurrent List item.

• Neither the state nor the centre is mandated under the Bill to provide financial assistance for the conversion of insanitary latrines.  This may adversely impact implementation of the Bill.

• Offences under the Bill may be tried summarily though the penalty could be five years imprisonment.  However, under the CrPC, only offences with a maximum imprisonment of two years can be tried summarily.

• A state government can grant the Executive Magistrate the judicial power to try offences under the Bill.  This may create a conflict of interest if the Executive Magistrate is also the implementing authority.

• The Bill has a wider scope and higher penalties than the 1993 Act.

Strength:

The strength of the new law is that it is a central law, binding on all States, and not a State law requiring endorsement by State legislatures, which sadly took 18 years for the 1993 law.

Still something missed in this act. What are they?

This new law allows governments to continue these old practices as long as they introduce ‘protective gear’.

Analysis of this bill:

The new law requires every local authority to carry out a survey of unsanitary latrines and manual scavengers within its jurisdiction.

·        The experience with the 1993 law has been that State governments have greatly under-reported the prevalence of manual scavenging, and mostly continue to be in denial.

·        Having declared that manual scavenging has been eradicated, officers reject community findings that these latrines and manual scavengers exist, even when confronted with strong evidence.

·        If government and community activists conduct separate surveys, it is most unlikely that they will agree on most of the findings, and the time-bound eradication of the practice will be impossible.

·        Therefore the rules should mandate a joint survey of dry unsanitary latrines and manual scavengers by designated teams of both officials and community members.

·        There should also be provision for self-declaration by manual scavengers.

The new law provides that the employer shall retain full-time scavengers on the same salary and assign them to different work.

·        It does not extend this protection to the large proportion of manual scavengers — including those employed for sewers and the Railways — who are contract and casual workers.

·        The rules should clearly lay down that no person who is employed in casual, contract or regular employment in any of these tasks will be terminated, and instead will be redeployed in non-manual scavenging related tasks.

Finally,  

·        Community people were demanding for socio-economic, political and educational rehabilitation for their comprehensive rehabilitation and holistic empowerment which they feel is entirely missing from the law.

·        Besides, the rehabilitation package and estimated budget is not clearly spelt out.

They have waited far too long for the fulfilment of the promises of India’s Constitution, of equal citizenship. They should wait no longer.

Other Initiatives by GoI:

Total Sanitation Campaign (TSC) or Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan (NBA):

·        It is a Community-led total sanitation program initiated by Government of India in 1999.

·        The main goal of Total Sanitation Campaign is to eradicate the practice of open defecation by 2017.

·        Community-led total sanitation is not focused on building infrastructure, but on preventing open defecation through peer pressure and shame.

·        In Maharashtra where the program started more than 2000 Gram Panchayats have achieved "open defecation free" status.

·        Villages that achieve this status receive monetary rewards and high publicity under a program called Nirmal Gram Puraskar. 

·        The campaigning ambassador for Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan is Vidya Balan.

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Pre-matric Scholarships for the Children of those Engaged in Unclean Occupations:

·        The objective of this scheme is to provide financial assistance to enable the children of scavengers of dry latrines, tanners, flayers and sweepers who have traditional links with scavenging to pursue pre-matric education.

·        Under the scheme, the States / UTs are now provided 100% Central assistance over and above their respective committee liabilities to implement this scheme.

·        The scheme covers over 6 lakh students every year.

Integrated Low Cost Sanitation Scheme (ILCS):

·        The main objectives of the scheme are to convert the existing dry latrines into low cost pour flush latrines and to construct new ones where none exist.

·        The scheme has been continued in the 12^th plan period with the intention of converting the remaining latrines serviced by humans identified by the census of india 2011 in urban areas.

·         Parliament passed the ‘Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013’ (MS Act, 2013)  

·         The objectives of 2013 Act

·         Eliminate the insanitary latrines.

·         Prohibit:-

·         Employment as Manual Scavengers

·         Hazardous manual cleaning of sewer and septic tanks.

·         Survey of Manual Scavengers and their rehabilitation

·         Main features of the 2013 Act

·         Definitions of manual scavengers and insanitary latrines widened to cover not only dry latrines but other insanitary latrines as well.

·         Offences under the Act are cognizable and non-bail able and attract stringent penalties.

·         Vigilance/Monitoring Committee at sub-Division, District, State and Central Govt. levels.

·         National Commission for Safai Karamcharis (NCSK) would, inter alia, monitor implementation of the Act and enquire into complaints regarding contravention of the provisions of the Act.

·         Provision of construction of adequate number of sanitary community latrines in urban areas, within three years from the date of commencement of this Act to eliminate the practice of open defecation.

Constitutional safeguards:

·         Article 14: Equality before law. (Right to Equality)

·         Article 16 (2): Equality of opportunity in matters of public employment

·         Article 19 (1)(g) : Right to Freedom (Protection of certain rights regarding freedom of speech), to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade or business.

·         Article 21 : Protection of life and personal liberty

·         Article 23 : Prohibition of traffic in human beings and forced labor

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